(Pictured: Gridlock in Yosemite Valley)
Local Events
April 3rd – SEKI Union gathering at the Gateway at 6:30 P.M. on the West Coast.
April 7th – Local 465 membership meeting at 6:30 PM PDT/MST and 7:30 PM MDT.
Local Updates
YOSE Employee Reservation System Survey & YOSE Chapter Statement
On Wednesday February 18th, Yosemite Superintendent Ray McPadden announced that Yosemite National Park will not require vehicle reservations for 2026. NFFE Local 465 is looking to gather opinions of Yosemite employees regarding this shift following two years of required reservations.
On February 21st, NFFE Local 465 YOSE Chapter released a statement regarding how the decision to not implement a reservation system will affect workers in the 2026 season. Read more here.
NFFE Local 465 Demand To Bargain On Working Conditions Impacted By Yosemite Reservation System Discontinuation
On March 18th, Local 465 issued the documents to address the imminent changes in working conditions due to management’s decision to discontinue Yosemite National Park’s reservations system for 2026. These are both legal procedures that are statutorily given to the Union under 5 U.S.C. § 711 (The Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute). Management has 5 business days to schedule a meeting to begin the impacts and implementation negotiations and 10 business days to procure the requested information. Read more on NFFE 465’s Instagram.
Park Signs Flagged for Review
Per Secretarial Order 3431, “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” all NPS units were required to submit park signage and interpretive materials to DOI that might run afoul of the order. You can now view a list of signs flagged for review at your park unit and NPS-wide here. There is no way to tell what has been censored or will be at the present time. Read more about the ongoing story here.
What is flagged for review in YOSE?
•Indigenous history Various signs about Indigenous life and the Mariposa Battalion’s state sanctioned violence and broader European American aggression towards Yosemite’s First People.
•The full biography of Joseph Leconte A sign detailing his involvement in the eugenics movement at the Yosemite Conservation Heritage Center.
•Japanese American history A video at the Yosemite Discovery Center with information about Chiura Obata’s incarceration in a Japanese American internment camp during World War II.
•The Sierra Club’s history timeline in Parsons Memorial Lodge detailing 1800s Muir era conservation activism to present day climate change and social justice activism.
What is flagged for review in SEKI?
•Air quality A sign at Lookout Point on Mineral King Road that describes the use of solar energy at a park building and details how fossil fuel emissions contribute to acid deposition, high ozone, and particulate matter in the air.
Saguaro and Yellowstone had “Nothing to Report”
Relevant National News
AFGE Council 270 Wins EPAP Grievance – over 2,000 Employees affected
AFGE Council 270, representing approximately 2,000 NPS employees in the Northeast Region, successfully won a mass grievance for employees concerning recent EPAP ratings. This grievance will allow ratings to represent the work and accomplishments of employees, and no longer fit an standard assigned to them from OPM.
Schedule F – How Many NPS Workers Affected?
Schedule F, or Schedule Policy/Career, is a new schedule put forth by the Trump Administration. While there is no hard or fast rule as to who will be placed within this schedule, OPM estimates that nearly 50,000 people will be reclassified as Schedule F employees. Those shifted into these positions will lose their rights of due process as employees, and furthermore, have whistleblower protections revoked. AFGE and ASCME have already filed lawsuits against the matter, stating that the regulation violates the Administrative Procedure Act, and rolling back a Biden-era codified law that protects federal workers from having their schedules changed as such.
OPM Pushing No Backpay for Shutdown Furloughs
After what was the longest shutdown in government history, OPM guidance on whether or not furloughed employee’s would receive their pay changed. Employees were eventually paid, via the GEFTA Act signed by President Trump in 2019.
However, the most recent guidance given to agencies by OPM concerning shutdown guidance has completely removed the language on furloughed employees receiving backpay. Furthermore, a section was added where “adverse actions” can be taken against poor performers during a shutdown.
OPM formally proposes limiting top performance ratings for federal workers
OPM has formally proposed a rule to involve the forced distribution of performance ratings. This ruling would have supervisors meet quota’s on top performers, and limit the amount of those that ‘Exceed expectations.’ Furthermore, the ruling would also include a ban on union grievances over an unfair rating.
Have thoughts on this proposal? Make your voice heard! You can submit a public comment anytime until March 26th here.
IRS rescinds CBA with NTEU
After a lower appeals court overturned an injunction that ruled in favor of labor unions, the IRS is attempting to rescind their CBA held with employees represented by NTEU. National President of NTEU, Doreen Greenwald, responded by saying “So what?,” and she “…sent a response letter to IRS and a letter to Chief Counsel explaining that their piece of paper means nothing.” The union plans to move ahead with arbitration and related cases, while the agency attempts to terminate a contract that does not sunset until 2027 (p. 185).
In Solidarity,
NFFE Local 465
Union representing National Park Service employees at Yosemite National Park, Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks, Saguaro National Park, and Yellowstone National Park
