Undeterred by last year’s unprecedented assault on federal worker union rights by the Trump administration, some federal government employees are still lining up to unionize. In ballots tallied June 17, National Park Service workers in eight Western states voted 317 to 11 to be represented by National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), the second-largest union of federal employees.
NTEU says the new bargaining unit will include about 650 park rangers, scientists, administrative staff, and others in the National Park Service’s Intermountain Region, which stretches from Montana to Texas. That includes workers at the famed Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, and Glacier national parks.
The vote comes in the wake of dramatic cuts to the Park Service staff since Donald Trump took office: The park service workforce is down by about 4,000 workers, 25%, due to a combination of incentivized voluntary retirements, mass layoffs, and a hiring freeze.
