Member minute
What does a union zookeeper do
I feed animals and clean out the exhibits. I work with wolves, the yak, penguins, ponies, ostriches, goats and educational animals, the ones that go out to schools with volunteer docents.
I bet people are surprised that zoo workers belong to what's considered a manufacturing union.
It surprised me, too, but it’s about people who are holding down a job and need protection. The union protects us and helps give us job security and makes sure we get good treatment from our employer.
Are you into politics?
No, but an exciting thing happened here last year. We changed to a county zoo. The city did a really good job for 90 years but was going to have to lay people off. We got it on the ballot and went to City Council meetings and did lawn signs and all that. Now we have a bigger tax base and more money to work with.
