Workers at Yosemite National Park and Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks have voted to unionize, according to an announcement from the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE). The vote, held between July 22 and August 19 during peak staffing periods for the parks, saw more than 97% of employees at both locations support union representation.
Employees eligible to participate included Interpretive Park Rangers, educators, researchers, fee collectors, first responders, firefighters and other staff. Both permanent and seasonal workers were given the opportunity to cast their votes. The Federal Labor Relations Authority certified the election results on Monday, officially adding about 600 workers from the two parks to NFFE’s ranks.
With this decision, staff at Yosemite and Sequoia & Kings Canyon join a growing number of park service employees who are unionized under NFFE. This includes workers at Yellowstone National Park, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and Gulf Islands National Seashore. NFFE also represents many federal land management employees across agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management.
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