Park City ski patrol union officially on strike after Vail Resorts ‘refused to counteroffer’
Dec 27, 2024, 10:08 AM | Updated: 6:43 pm
PARK CITY — After months of negotiation between the Park City Professional Ski Patrol and Park City Mountain’s parent company, Vail Resorts, the ski patrol union announced it was officially on an unfair labor practice strike starting Friday morning.
“Instead of clocking in to work this morning, nearly 200 ski patrollers and mountain safety personnel hung up their jackets and formed a picket line in solidarity to amplify their fight for better wages and working conditions,” Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association said in a statement.
The union said Vail Resorts “forced” the strike by “bargaining in bad faith and repeatedly violating the National Labor Relations Act.” Ultimately, though, the company “refused to give a counteroffer on wages or benefits in the last two weeks.”
“None of us are trying to be rich. We are merely trying to live a dignified life and afford things like groceries and childcare,” said Emmet Murray, the vice president out of the Canyons Village for the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association.
Park City ski patrollers picket on Friday, Dec. 27 after the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association went on strike, saying Vail Resorts bargained in “bad faith” and refused to give a counteroffer on wages or benefits. (Emma Benson, KSL TV)
The last proposal made by Vail Resorts was a 4% increase for the majority of patrollers, with a $1,600 equipment budget for each. But the union submitted a counterproposal, which said it would only “affect a very small amount of our unit.”
The union hoped mediation would be the answer, according to Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association business manager Margaux Klingensmith, after it alleged Vail Resorts had been using “stall tactics” in meetings up until now.
“Up until this point, it’s been over nine months. There have been several weeks where the company was unable to meet,” Klingensmith said. “Just in the last week, we did not receive a counterproposal on wages or benefits from the company, and we had two sessions this week where they could have done that.”
Vail Resorts said that the first mediation session was held Thursday, with another session scheduled for Friday before the union patrollers “walked away.”
The labor strike was approved within the union via a unanimous vote on Dec. 13, and has loomed over the resort since. In that time, the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association said Vail Resorts “doubled down on its anti-worker strategy” and accused the company of flying in strikebreakers, or “scabs” as it calls them, to the resort.
In contrast, Vail Resorts Vice President and COO Deirdra Walsh told KSL TV they had negotiated in good faith throughout the process, tentatively agreeing to 24 of 27 of the contract agreements.
“We have made significant investments in the ski patrol wages in the last four years, and we are committed to negotiations around this,” Walsh said.
In a statement, Walsh said the mountain resort would remain open thanks to “patrol leaders from Park City Moutain and other mountain resorts.”:
We are deeply disappointed the patrol union has walked away from mediation and chosen drastic action that attempts to disrupt mountain operations in the middle of the holiday season, given we invested significantly in patrol with their wages increasing more than 50% over past four seasons, and we have reached agreements on 24 of the 27 current contract terms. We want to reassure skiers and snowboarders, our employees, and this community that despite the union’s actions, Park City Mountain will remain open with safety as our top priority, and all planned terrain will be open thanks to patrol leaders from Park City Mountain and our other mountain resorts. In addition to the over 50% increase in wages over the past four seasons, the current Park City Mountain patrol proposal increases wages another 4% for the majority of patrollers and provides $1,600 per patroller for equipment. We remain committed to reaching an agreement.
The Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association asked locally owned businesses and consumers to send a message to Vail Resorts by supporting the strike.
“Don’t buy day tickets, don’t purchase food from the lodges, don’t use Vail-owned tune and rental shops, don’t stay at Vail-owned lodging,” said Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association business manager Quinn Graves. “We are asking our community to help us tell Vail Resorts to bargain in good faith. While the union strives for better wages and benefits, please support us and our amazing community by shopping at local businesses instead.”
The union also created a fundraiser* to help its patrollers pay bills while on strike, with a cumulative goal of $100,000.
This is a developing story. It may be updated.
Contributing: Shelby Lofton and Emma Benson, KSL TV, and Alexandrea Bonilla, KSLNewsRadio
*KSL TV does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
