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- Ski patrollers in Park City return to work Thursday after approving a new contract with Vail Resorts.
- The agreement includes pay raises, enhanced education clauses, and wage parity with nonunionized employees.
- Multiple unfair labor complaints against Vail from various union units remain open, under investigation by the National Labor Relations Board.
PARK CITY — Ski patrollers are putting away their picket signs and returning to work on Thursday with hard-fought raises across the ranks.
The union vote to ratify a new contract passed Wednesday night about 10 p.m., though the official results of the vote have not been released. A statement from the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association says that Vail Resorts has acquiesced to baseline pay raises after 10 months of negotiations.
Entry-level patrollers and mountain safety employees will see the $2-per-hour raises, bringing the starting hourly pay to $23. The average increase for experienced patrollers is $4 per hour, according to a release sent Wednesday night. The most experienced jobs could see average increases of $7.75 per hour, the union says.
In addition, the release says there are "enhanced" education clauses and parental leave policies now built in, a "restructured wage scale" to retain patrollers long-term, and wage parity with nonunionized Vail Resorts.
Seth Dromgoole, lead negotiator for the Park City ski patrol union, in a statement Wednesday night said, "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."
Vail Resorts' Bill Rock, president of the mountain division, said in a prepared statement that the agreement "is consistent with our company's wage structure for all patrollers, nonunionized and unionized, while accounting for the unique terrain and avalanche complexity of Park City Mountain."
Rock said they look forward to welcoming back the patrollers "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."
The company said it will prioritize opening the Tombstone, Dream Peak and McConkey's lifts.
Park City leaders said they're thrilled with the resolution, especially with major events like the Sundance Film Festival and FIS World Cup taking place in Park City over the next few weeks. Leaders had called on Vail Resorts earlier this week to "take immediate action" and reach a deal to end disruptions caused by the strike.
"This challenging time has highlighted the power of civility and mutual respect in overcoming our issues," Park City Mayor Nann Worel and members of the Park City Council said, in a joint statement late Wednesday. "We recognize and appreciate the hard work of everyone involved, especially the local resort leadership team, in bringing this to a successful conclusion."
Unfair labor complaints
Multiple complaints, acquired by KSL.com through public records requests, have been filed by the ski patrol union with the National Labor Relations Board over the course of negotiations since its contract expired the last day of April.
Union representatives accused Vail Resorts of changing a past contract without the group's consent, after it "put a hold on" annual merit increases "given to all other employee," one complaint filed Dec. 16 says.
Another complaint, also filed Dec. 16, complains of "failure to meet with the union at reasonable intervals, failure to bargain in good faith concerning mandatory subject of bargaining, and engaging in bad faith, surface, and piecemeal bargaining."
The union says Vail was "delaying and refusing to furnish information the union requests that is relevant to the bargaining process," "displayed a pattern of taking longer than the agreed upon time to furnish information requested by the union, and in multiple cases has refused to provide the information requested," according to a third complaint filed Dec. 16.
On Dec. 17 —10 days before the strike began — a complaint was filed alleging Vail Resort began calling employees "asking whether or not they intend to strike," and "offering extra overtime pay to employees who agree to cross the picket line, effectively bribing employees to discourage their participation in protected union activities."
The Keystone ski patrol union, which is also negotiating currently with Vail for its first contract, filed a similar complaint with the labor board in October, making similar allegations — "the employer is refusing to issue annual wage merit increases," the document says.
Crested Butte's ski patrol union filed a complaint in June alleging Vail refused to process employee grievances "for arbitrary or discriminatory reasons or in bad faith." The lift maintenance crew union at Vail's Crested Butte resort is still negotiating its contract, according to Crested Butte News.
Three additional complaints were filed by the Park City union after the records request by KSL.com was submitted, including one on Tuesday. All cited complaints remain open and are being investigated by the National Labor Relations Board.
Over $300,000 was raised to support the local ski patrollers during their strike. Union reps say the money that was not used to pay wages during downtime "will go toward sustaining and growing our union, supporting mountain worker solidarity, and contributing to our local community," including through donations to other nonprofits.
