Tracker strike in Park City disrupts operations at largest U.S. station

Ski patrollers, unhappy with wages they say are too low compared to the high cost of living, have shut down operations at the largest ski resort in the United States with a rare strike that began over the holidays loaded and continued into the fresh powder of the new year.

The resulting reduction in staff at Park City Mountain Resort, owned by Vail Resorts, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) east of Salt Lake City, Utah, in the Wasatch Range, has left many trails closed and caused long queues for ski lifts.

However, some skiers who paid a lot for their passes are sympathetic. “Pay your employees!” » they chant from the elevator lines in videos posted on social networks.

Unionization is rare but it is increasing in American ski resorts, notably in the Arapahoe Basin, where ski patrollers will vote this week on the formation of a union.

With negotiations in Park City stalled, 200 patrol officers went on strike on December 27, alleging unfair negotiations by the company.

Broomfield-based Vail Resorts, which owns 42 properties on three continents and bills itself as the world’s largest mountain resort operator, owns five mountains in Colorado: Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Crested Butte.

Here is the latest news on the strike:

What are ski patrollers?

They provide safety at ski resorts by monitoring the terrain, responding to accidents, carrying injured skiers down descents, and reducing avalanche risks, sometimes triggering avalanches with explosives when no one is around. scope.

It’s seasonal work. Once the snow melts, so do they.

Many Rocky Mountain region residents work as fly fishing, mountain biking, and whitewater rafting guides during the warmer months. These are often young people who are starting out on the job market.

Others spend decades honing their skills in a physically demanding job.

The specialized work requires training and dedication — and should be paid without much stress from the cost of living in expensive mountain towns such as Park City, the ski patrol union says.

The strike comes as union actions have increased over the past two years. Unions have won significant management concessions in recent months following strikes by Boeing factory workers, East Coast and Gulf port dockworkers, video game artists and Strip hotel and casino workers. from Las Vegas.

Continuing threats by 45,000 dock workers to resume their strike against automation would close ports and could hurt the economy as President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House.

What do the patrol officers want?

Pointing to high inflation since 2022, the Park City Professional Ski Patrollers Association has been negotiating since March, seeking an increase from $21 to $23 an hour. The union says $27 is considered a living wage in Park City, which is also home to Deer Valley Resort.

They are also calling for higher pay for longer-serving ski patrollers. The current scale reaches its maximum after five years of work.

“We just want to make sure these tenured patrollers are compensated for their skills and encouraged to stay,” said Alana McClements, a Park City ski patroller and association spokesperson.

What does Vail Resorts say?

Ski patrollers received a big raise a few years ago.

Vail Resorts says it has been generous with its 50% base pay increase, from $13 to $21 an hour in 2022. It is now offering a 4% pay increase to most patrol officers and 1,600 $ per year for their equipment.

“We deeply regret that this will impact the customer experience and are grateful to our thousands of employees who work hard every day to enable the experience at Park City Mountain and open the field,” Vail President Bill Rock. Hill Stations Division, said in a statement.

What are the effects?

Snow fell thick and fast in Park City, with more than 24 inches falling last week. But much of Park City Mountain Resort is closed because of the strike.

As of Monday, only 25 of 41 ski lifts and 103 of 350 slopes were open, according to the resort’s website.

Vail Resorts apparently brought in non-union workers from other resorts to help keep the one in Park City operating, McClements said.

Vail and Beaver Creek patrol officers are not unionized. But ski patrol staff at other Vail Resorts properties, including Breckenridge, Crested Butte and Keystone, are unionized and have expressed solidarity with workers at Park City Mountain Resort and complained about pressure on workers at ‘elsewhere for them to go there.

Supporters include other resort workers, including ski instructors and snow groomers, who hope their own salaries will increase if the patrollers are successful, said ski instructor Grace Mauzy.

“Being a ski patroller requires even more advanced training than being an instructor, but to be an instructor, you also need to have qualifying training,” explains Mauzy. “They are both very underpaid.”

There is a broader sense, McClements said, that if Vail Resorts gives in to the union’s demands, ski workers elsewhere will demand raises.

“There are still mountain workers who are paid unlivable wages because people view parts of their jobs as fun,” McClements said. “We definitely see this as a broader fight.”