Only Strike in Park’s 95-Year History : First-Ever Picket Lines Up at Yosemite

More than 100 bus drivers, mechanics, maintenance workers and service station attendants walked off their jobs today in the first strike in the 95-year history of Yosemite National Park.

Employees of the Yosemite Park & Curry Co., which operates the concessions in the park, struck at 7 a.m. Negotiations for a new labor contract broke down Thursday evening, and no new talks were scheduled.

Company officials said even if the strike continues into the Memorial Day weekend--traditionally one of the busiest weekends of the year at Yosemite--there would be little or no disruption of services.

Picket lines were set up at several Curry facilities in the park as management personnel moved into the positions vacated by the striking workers.

National Park Service officals stressed that the workers on strike are Curry Co. employees rather than workers for the park itself.

The 109 striking workers, part of the concessionaire’s work force of more than 1,600 employees in the park, are represented by Teamsters Union Local 386, which called the strike after no progress was reported in negotiations for a new contract.

The contract covering the tour and shuttle bus drivers and others expired last weekend, but employees remained on the job as negotiations continued.

Earlier in the week, workers rejected a three-year contract offer by Curry that called for pay increases ranging from 2% to 3% each year. Union officials said the proposal also called for employees to begin paying half the cost of their medical insurance, a benefit that was fully paid by the company in the previous pact.