For Immediate Release
March 25, 2026
Contact:
- Cyndi Tuell, Western Watersheds Workers, 520-272-2454, westernwatershedsworkers@gmail.com
- Erik Molvar, Western Watersheds Project, (307) 399-7910, emolvar@westernwatersheds.org
- Nancy Roth, Western Watersheds Project board member, nancy.roth@westernwatersheds.org
Western Watersheds Project, Union Ratify First Collective Bargaining Agreement
HAILEY, Ida. – Western Watersheds Project and Western Watersheds Workers Union today announced the ratification of their first Collective Bargaining Agreement. The agreement extends current employee benefits and provides additional process and guarantees that further improve work conditions and opportunities for career development.
Western Watersheds Workers union formed in July 2024, with every union-eligible employee signing a union card. “The union organized during a period of stability and strong leadership—not in response to conflict or dissatisfaction,” said Cyndi Tuell, President of the Western Watersheds Workers Union. “Western Watersheds Project has long been a supportive, mission-driven, and values-aligned place to work. Our decision to unionize was grounded in appreciation for that culture and a desire to preserve it for future staff.”
“Western Watersheds Project has been a powerhouse in protecting wildlife and watersheds due to the expertise and talent of our professional staff, so it has always been in the best interest of the organization to ensure the best possible working conditions and employee morale,” said Erik Molvar, Executive Director of Western Watersheds Project. “When the staff expressed a desire to unionize, the organization backed them one hundred percent, because a nonprofit conservation group is only as strong as its workers.”
Following voluntary recognition of the union by Western Watersheds Project, negotiations began in spring 2025. Over the course of the past year, union President Cyndi Tuell and Vice President Adam Bronstein, led bargaining on behalf of staff, meeting regularly with Executive Director Erik Molvar and Board representatives Kelley Weston and Nancy Roth to develop an agreement that reflects the strength of the organization and the commitment to support the workers of the environmental community.
“The process was steady, respectful, and cooperative,” said Bronstein. “Conversations were transparent and solutions-oriented. Leadership and the Board approached negotiations in good faith, and there was a shared understanding throughout the negotiations that supporting staff strengthens our ability to protect and restore western watersheds and wildlife.”
“There was never any reason for the organization’s management to resist or impede the union process,” said Molvar. “The success of the workers and the success of the organization are inseparable, so WWP leadership has always wanted the best for our employees. And they have delivered, time after time, winning success after success for western public lands and wildlife.”
“I cannot stress enough how incredible it is to see a union bargaining process occur with so much respect and collegiality,” added WWP Board Member Nancy Roth, who is herself a National Nurses United union member.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement follows the adoption of numerous progressive employment practices, including the adoption of the 32-hour work week, a generous vacation and sabbatical policy, workplace flexibility, and a health insurance package with premiums 100% paid by the organization. The final agreement formalizes many of the positive practices already in place at WWP and provides clear, durable frameworks moving forward. It brings added clarity and long-term stability while reinforcing the strong workplace culture that already exists.
“We are deeply grateful to WWP leadership and the Board for their openness, professionalism, and commitment to partnership throughout this process,” said Tuell. “This first contract is not a departure from who we are as an organization—it is a reflection of it.”
“Our goal has been to ramp up staff benefits at WWP, and that philosophy has paid off in productivity and excellence on the part of the staff,” said Molvar. “This union contract is the next logical step for an organization that wants to create a rewarding work environment to set the standard for the conservation community, and we see it as an entirely positive step.”
“Finalizing our Collective Bargaining Agreement marks an important milestone, but more than that, it affirms something we have known from the beginning: Western Watersheds Project is a strong organization because it values the people who do this work,” Tuell concluded.
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