PARK CITY, UTAH — Two hundred ski patrol employees went on strike Friday morning after nine months of negotiations failed to yield a contract acceptable to both ski patrollers and the resort.
The started a picket line Friday, Dec. 27, saying it will continue to picket at Park City Mountain until the union and Vail Resorts, the resort’s parent company, agree on a contract.
Park City ski patrollers are demanding higher wages and better working conditions, and claim Vail Resort has been using “bad faith tactics” during the bargaining process.
“Vail Resorts forced this work stoppage by bargaining in bad faith and repeatedly violating the National Labor Relations Act,” the union said in its press release. “The company has made no reasonable movement towards an agreement on wages and benefits.”
The union said Vail Resorts has engaged in an “anti-worker strategy” by bringing in people — known as strikebreakers or scabs — who will work during the strike, making the strike less effective.
“It is clear that the company sees more value in anti-union tactics than investing in its workforce. However, it is the safety and experience of the skiing public, and the livelihoods of ski patrollers and other employees, that will bear the cost,” the union said.
While the union claims the resort has been negotiating in bad faith, Park City Mountain counters that saying officials have met with the union regularly to negotiate a new contract since the last contract ended in April.
The resort said it had just begun a mediation process on Thursday with the union’s support and was scheduled to meet again on Friday when ski patrollers went on strike.
Deirdra Walsh, Park City Mountain’s vice president and chief operating officer, provided a statement to ABC4.com with additional details on the negotiations, including the resort’s most recent contract proposal.
“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,” Walsh said.
She said the current proposal on the table would further increase wages by 4% for most ski patrollers and would give each patroller $1,600 to update their equipment.
“We remain committed to reaching an agreement,” Walsh said.
Margaux Klingensmith, a business manager for Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association, speaks with ABC4 about the ski patrol strike on Dec. 27. (Credit: Rebekah Adams/KTVX)
Margaux Klingensmith, a business manager for Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association, said while they have been meeting since April, the resort’s counteroffers continue to have “incredibly minimal increases to wages.”
“We’ve been meeting but we just haven’t gotten any progress on wages or benefits,” Klingensmith said. “We had mediation yesterday, seven hours of it, they did not bring a proposal then. It has been two weeks since we have heard a counter proposal on wages or benefits from the company.”
Park City Mountain will remain open despite the ongoing strike. Walsh said there will be no changes to the available terrain “thanks to patrol leaders from Park City Mountain and [Vail Resort’s] other mountain resorts.” Klingensmith said these ski patrollers are being flown in from the parent company’s other ski resorts.
“Everyone on this picket line has dedicated years and years to becoming a skilled professional in this industry and has dedicated years to learning the terrain around this resort, it’s a huge resort it takes a long time to learn,” Klingensmith said. “We want a fair contract that’s why we’re fighting so hard for this.”
Rebekah Adams contributed to reporting.
Yeah basically.
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