THE HIGHS AND FURLOUGHS
This article was published in the October 11, 2025 Issue.
Yosemite National Park employees voted to unionize this summer. Then, the government shut down.
“We’re at a standstill right now,” said Steven Gutierrez, a representative with the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), which represents federal workers at Yosemite, Sequoia, Yellowstone and other National Parks, as well as the U.S. Forest Service.
The federal government shut down last Wednesday after Congress failed to pass appropriations legislation for the 2026 fiscal year, which began that day.
Under the Trump administration’s contingency plan for the National Park Service (NPS), roughly two-thirds of park staff are now furloughed without pay, even as California’s nine national parks remain broadly open.
That means there’s no ranger at Yosemite’s entrance booths to greet visitors or collect fees, but people can (and will) still visit the park. And for the rangers who usually staff those booths, the shutdown means most of them are both out of work and unable to begin negotiating new labor contracts until the government reopens.
The vote to unionize, certified August 27, came in response to widespread staff terminations within the National Park Service over the summer. And though the union can’t yet negotiate with the administration, it is still meeting and organizing internally. For Gutierrez, that often requires a hands-on approach.
“You can’t do everything on Zoom, and not everybody has cell phone service 24-hours/day in these positions,” he said. “So if I have to hike up a trail to go find somebody, then I’m going to go do that.”
The newly formed union is currently electing officers, building a board, and setting up administrative accounts. A draft contract template is already in place, though Gutierrez acknowledged that negotiating terms with the current administration will be difficult.
“In this administration, I don’t expect to get some big wins on there, but I do expect to get some,” he said.
Meanwhile, the staff cuts that initially spurred the union vote remain a major concern, especially as the National Park Conservation Association and other advocacy groups warn of further reductions. If additional layoffs occur before contracts are in place, NFFE plans to pursue litigation to protect affected employees.
But above all, Gutierrez said, the union gives park workers a voice.
“Now that they are organized as a union, they have a different way of expressing themselves. They don’t need to live in fear,” he said.
Once the government reopens, the union plans to send Yosemite and other park employees to Washington, D.C., to lobby Congress and “share what is truly happening on the ground.”
In the meantime, NFFE is delivering nonperishable food to furloughed employees to help ease the strain of missed paychecks.
“We anticipate [the shutdown] will be a little long, and these folks still have to put food on the table.” Gutierrez said. “It’s not going to solve all the issues, but it’s a nice gesture.”
