By Mead Gruver ASSOCIATED PRESS
Two hundred Utah ski patrollers returned to work Thursday after voting to accept a new labor contract and end a nearly two-week strike that closed many trails and caused long lift lines at the ones that remained open during a busy time of year at the country’s biggest ski resort.
The Park City Ski Professional Ski Patrol Association claimed victory, saying in a statement that Colorado-based Vail Resorts, which owns Park City Mountain Resort, acceded to its key demands including a $2-an-hour base pay increase and raises for senior ski patrollers.
“This contract is more than just a win for our team — it’s a groundbreaking success in the ski and mountain worker industry. This effort demonstrates what can be achieved when workers stand together and fight for what they deserve,” ski patroller and union lead negotiator Seth Dromgoole said in a statement.
Union negotiators and Vail Resorts announced Tuesday that they had reached a tentative deal. The full union voted Wednesday to accept the agreement.
The strike began on Dec. 27 after negotiations that started in March bogged down and the union accused Vail Resorts of bargaining unfairly. The strike coincided with the busy holiday season and a period of more than 2 feet (61 centimeters) of fresh but difficult-to-access snowfall at the resort.
Despite the closed trails and long lift lines, some skiers expressed support for the strikers, chanting “Pay your employees!” in videos posted on social media.
“We look forward to welcoming back the Park City Mountain patrollers in the coming days and moving forward together as one team. We apologize to our guests who were impacted by this strike and are incredibly grateful to our team who worked hard to keep the mountain open and operating safely over the past two weeks,” Bill Rock, Vail Resorts’ mountain division president, said in a statement.
On Thursday, an Illinois man sued Vail Resorts in federal court in Utah, arguing the company failed to properly notify customers of the strike.
Christopher Bisaillon, who did not know about the strike until he arrived at the resort on Dec. 28, said in the lawsuit that he spent more than $15,000 for a weeklong vacation with his family of five and skied fewer than 10 runs because of the strike. He argued that the company knew or should have known as early as Dec. 16 that a strike was possible but did nothing to alert the public.
Vail Resorts declined to comment about the lawsuit, which seeks punitive damages to be determined during a trial.
Pointing to steep inflation since 2022, the Park City Professional Ski Patrollers Association sought a pay increase from $21 to $23 an hour. It said $27 is a livable wage in Park City, which is also home to Deer Valley Resort.
Park City, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) east of Salt Lake City, is a resort town of about 8,000 people where the average home price tops $1.5 million and living costs are well above average.
The raises include a $4-an-hour average increase for senior ski patrollers, with some specialized long-time workers getting an average of $7.75 more, according to the union.
The union also sought higher pay for the longest-serving patrollers. The current scale tops out after five years on the job.
Vail Resorts, which calls itself the world’s largest mountain resort operator with 42 properties on three continents, said it already had been generous with the Park City Mountain Resort ski patrollers, pointing to a 50% base-pay increase from $13 to $21 an hour in 2022. It had been offering a 4% pay increase for most patrollers and $1,600 each year for their equipment.
Ski labor negotiations aren’t rare, but this strike happened after talks went much longer than usual, drawing attention during a busy time, observed Alex Kaufman, a former ski resort marketing executive and podcaster.
“The issue was probably never really about the money or benefits. It was a conscious decision by Vail Resorts to let it bleed into the holidays,” Kaufman said. “They overplayed their hand and paid the price.”
Ski patrollers maintain safety by monitoring terrain, responding to accidents, hauling injured skiers downhill and reducing avalanche risk, such as by releasing built-up snow with explosives when nobody is nearby. Many work other jobs in the summer, including as fly-fishing, mountain biking and whitewater rafting guides.
Labor unions have secured meaningful employer concessions in recent months following strikes by Boeing factory workers, dockworkers at East and Gulf coast ports, video game performers, and hotel and casino workers on the Las Vegas Strip.
Associated Press writer Thomas Peipert contributed to this report from Denver.
