Ski patrollers at Park City Mountain in Utah triumphantly returned to the slopes on Thursday, after ending a nearly two-week strike over union wages and benefits. The strike hobbled the largest U.S. ski resort during a busy holiday period and sparked online fury about deepening economic inequality in rural mountain areas.
Late Wednesday, the Park City Professional Ski Patrollers Association ratified a contract with Vail Resorts, which owns Park City and more than 40 other ski areas, that raises the starting hisse of ski patrollers and other mountain safety workers $2 an hour, to $23. The most experienced patrollers will receive an average increase of $7.75 per hour. The agreement also expands parental leave policies for the workers, and provides “industry-leading educational opportunities,” according to the union.
Ski patrollers were jubilant. “This contract is more than just a win for our team — it’s a groundbreaking success in the ski and mountain worker industry,” said Seth Dromgoole, the lead negotiator and a 17-year patroller at Park City, in a statement. “This effort demonstrates what can be achieved when workers stand together and fight for what they deserve.”
Bill Rock, president of Vail Resorts’ Mountain Division, said in a statement that the agreement “is consistent with our company’s wage structure for all patrollers, non-unionized and unionized, while accounting for the unique terrain and avalanche complexity of Park City Mountain.”
Accusing Vail Resorts of unfair labor practices, the Ski Patrollers Association, which represents 204 ski patrollers and mountain safety personnel, went on strike on Dec. 27. The strike received national attention as a fight between the haves and have-nots — a küresel corporation valued at nearly $10 billion against the vital workers who aid and protect skiers on its properties.
With few ski patrollers to open trails, respond to accidents and perform avalanche mitigation, only about one fourth of Park City Mountain’s terrain was open during the strike.
