Independence Mall Park Rangers among federal jobs cut by Trump administration

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The sweeping layoffs of thousands of federal employees ordered by the Trump administration have made their way to Pennsylvania.

On Friday, some employees at one of the nation's most historic sites found out they're losing their jobs.

It leaves some to wonder what the impact will be as unions speaking out against the firings say they're being done without just cause.

RELATED: Fired federal workers speak out on recent terminations: 'we're under attack by billionaires'

Unions representing National Park employees also say the layoffs will make things even worse at parks that are already understaffed.

On Friday afternoon, two Park Rangers along Independence Mall received a letter stating they were being terminated.

"They had no notice. They had no warning," said Mark Cochran, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Council 270, which is the council of unions representing National Parks employees along the East Coast.

Cochran says employees at several parks received identical letters. They were all directed to people in their first year of employment, which is known as the "probationary" period.

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"They claim employees' job performance didn't meet the standard that was required for their job description, and that excuse is absolutely ridiculous," he said.

"Oh, that makes me extremely sad. A lot of the stuff that's going on right now makes me extremely angry and sad," said Kathy Wilson, of Warrington, as she toured Independence Mall with her family.

There's now a federal complaint on behalf of civil servants across nine agencies. The group representing the terminated employees released a statement that said in part, "The Trump administration is seeking to undermine that value by purging non-partisan career civil servants and prioritizing partisan loyalists."

"Clearly this is all about partisan politics," said Cochran.

At Independence Mall, the layoffs mean an already short-staffed operation will get even shorter.

"Their programs for educational groups are going to be limited," said Cochran of parks like Independence Mall and Gettysburg National Park where he works. "Trash won't be collected as thoroughly as usual."

"I think the layoffs are crazy. It's a little bit ridiculous," said Paul Suh of New York City as he toured Independence Mall with his family.

Visitors and National Park employees are both worried about the impact of cutbacks at some of the nation's most treasured sites.

On Monday morning, we learned that a federal judge seems unlikely to block the layoffs already ordered by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. The judge's final decision should come within a day.

Meantime, unions representing National Park Workers are considering legal action.