‘I’m not willing to die for their profit.’ Yosemite workers worry as eviction moratorium ends
John Franz worked in Yosemite National Park as his dream “semi-retirement job” – something the 65-year-old planned to keep doing as long as his body would let him.
That dream has been evaporating since he and scores of others found themselves without work after the popular park in California closed in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yosemite reopened June 11 with restrictions and reduced staffing.
This week – a couple days ahead of a federal moratorium on evictions set to expire Friday, July 24 – he faced a new challenge when he was told he had a week to move out of his park house in Wawona and into a tent cabin in Yosemite Valley. He’s among others without work who were told the same.
Wawona has had few people with COVID-19, according to sewer test results shared by Mariposa County, compared to a “larger group” with the virus in Yosemite Valley.
“Because of my age, I’m in an at-risk group,” Franz said. “I did not want to move to the valley and live in a tent and use a community bathroom and all that stuff. I’ve been trying to keep myself safe. I’m not willing to die for their profit.”
It’s unclear how the federal eviction moratorium expiring could affect Yosemite workers now and in the future. Yosemite National Park spokespeople have not responded to questions about the topic.
David Freireich, a corporate spokesperson for Aramark – which includes Yosemite Hospitality, the park’s concessionaire – said “no one is being told or asked to leave the park.”
Freireich said employees are just being moved to single-occupancy units, consistent with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control and part of “safety protocols and practices to help protect employees, guests, visitors and the broader Yosemite community at-large.”
Union representatives have told Yosemite employees that Aramark’s expectation is they leave Yosemite and vacate all park housing soon if not employed.
Aramark tried to evict some laid-off Yosemite employees in May, then backtracked and softened its messaging after news of plans spread. A letter soon followed from Sen. Kamala Harris to park officials asking that Yosemite workers be allowed to stay in the park.
In that May letter, she cited the state’s moratorium on evictions: “The Aramark Corporation must give their workers a written public assurance that they will not follow through with any evictions while there is a statewide moratorium set by Governor Newsom.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order at the end of June giving local governments the authority to halt evictions through Sept. 30.
Yosemite National Park, while under federal jurisdiction, has largely mirrored the actions of state and local officials when it comes to public health decisions regarding COVID-19 – although park officials said they couldn’t make people wear masks in Yosemite, despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s statewide mask order.
Yosemite had more than 4.5 million visitors last year. Yosemite reopened in June with a new day-use reservation system aimed at cutting that number in half. A month later, park officials said there was a larger-than-expected number of day-use visitors in the park, exceeding their initial goal.
During a normal year, Aramark employs approximately 1,200 Yosemite Hospitality workers.
Among workers just told to get their belongings out of a housing unit in a week is a furloughed employee who has been sheltering-in-place at another person’s home hours away. The employee spoke to The Bee on condition of anonymity out of concern of possible repercussions from managers.
That worker is scared to return to Yosemite now that COVID-19 has been detected in the park via a sewage study and at least one positive coronavirus test.
Yosemite worker: ‘I’m just disappointed’
After The Bee contacted Aramark managers about his situation, Franz was told he could instead move into another hard-sided employee house in Wawona instead of a tent cabin in Yosemite Valley. He said he was told he’ll need to leave that other Wawona home soon, too.
The small tent cabins in Yosemite Valley where he initially was going to be sent are located at Curry Village and known as “Boys Town.” They’re now also being used as temporary housing for laid-off workers trying to figure out what to do next. Those living in them have to share a communal bathroom and kitchen.
Franz currently shares his four-bedroom home with two others. Most employee housing in Yosemite is traditionally shared, and offered at a low cost.
Franz said he was previously told by a manager that he didn’t need to worry about losing his Wawona home as he waited to return to his job at Badger Pass Ski Area in the winter, and then the Wawona Hotel. Officials announced in April that the Wawona Hotel would stay closed into spring 2021 to complete electrical repairs and upgrades.
He doesn’t want a job in busy Yosemite Valley because of health risks, or to go to a different Aramark property without a union. He’s a shop steward for Yosemite’s Unite Here Local 19.
Of what’s happened to his Yosemite dream future, he said, “I’m just disappointed.”
This story was originally published July 25, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "‘I’m not willing to die for their profit.’ Yosemite workers worry as eviction moratorium ends."
