The National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM) criticized the Trump administration’s decision to relocate the U.S. Forest Service headquarters to Salt Lake City, Utah, and eliminate all regional offices, according to an April 7 announcement. The union said this move would disrupt workers who manage forests, fight wildfires, and serve the public across the country.
The issue is important because it affects research scientists conducting forestry studies that guide land management decisions nationwide, as well as recreation technicians who help keep public lands safe for millions of visitors each year. NFFE-IAM leaders say that removing regional offices could negatively impact both employees and the general public who rely on these services.
“The Trump administration cannot dress up a mass workforce disruption as common-sense management,” said NFFE-IAM National President Randy Erwin. “Our members are in our nation’s forests every single day, helping manage watersheds, wildfires, and the lands that millions of Americans count on. Uprooting their careers and blowing up the structure they work within is not a reform. It is chaos, and the American public and our public lands will pay the price.”
This announcement follows recent union activity among Forest Service employees: 174 workers at Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada and eastern California recently voted to join NFFE-IAM. The union described this organizing victory as evidence that federal workers want more protection amid what they describe as attacks on federal jobs by President Trump’s administration.
NFFE-IAM represents tens of thousands of U.S. Forest Service employees under a Master Agreement that provides workplace protections. The union says that before any restructuring takes place—including relocations or reassignments—the agency must legally bargain over how these changes will be implemented.
The National Federation of Federal Employees represents about 110,000 government workers across blue- and white-collar positions in the United States.
