PARK CITY, Utah — The Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association has expressed disappointment in a counter-offer issued by Vail Resorts after months of bargaining meetings failed to produce results.
About 70 ski patrollers demonstrated Saturday morning.
In a statement, the union said the resort company's offer "falls significantly short" of the union's demands.
"Although the Union and the Company have met for bargaining 20 times since May with progress on other contract items, the Company’s most recent proposal falls significantly short of addressing the membership’s expectations for fair compensation," the statement reads. "[Vail Resorts'] counter-offer includes less than a 0.5% raise and removes foundational elements from the current contract."
Quinn Graves, a ski patroller for four years with Park City Mountain, said the pay isn’t enough.
“Being paid what was considered a reasonable wage a few years ago is no longer cutting it,” Graves said.
“They proposed about a half of a percent raise for the unit,” Graves said. “That is nothing we consider to be fair.”
Graves said she can’t help but feel that it’s been difficult to keep up with inflation.
“The prices of houses and rent in Utah have skyrocketed over the years. It’s difficult for a lot of people to pay rent, pay bills, and get groceries,” she said. “Yes, the job is fun, but fun doesn’t pay rent.”
The patrollers want long-time employees to be paid fairly, too.
“A lot of the people who have been at the resort for a long time and bring so much value to the ski area and ski patrol are making a similar wage to someone that hasn’t been there that long,” Graves explained Saturday.
Graves said the counteroffer came after 20 bargaining sessions which began in May. Ski Patrollers and other mountain safety staff haven’t been under contract since the end of April.
The union is up for another negotiation session on Tuesday, according to Graves.
Vail Resorts sent FOX 13 News a statement from Deirdra Walsh, the vice president and chief operating officer of Park City Mountain Resort.
“Park City Mountain is negotiating in good faith with the union that represents its ski patrollers to reach an agreement that continues to demonstrate the great respect we have for our patrollers and the guest service they provide at the resort," Walsh's statement reads in part. "Over the past three years, the average wage for ski patrollers across the company, including at Park City Mountain, has increased substantially – far outpacing the rate of wage inflation – resulting in very competitive wages. Our wage proposal includes additional increases consistent with how we reward all employees on an annual basis, with wages this year that would again outpace wage inflation."
The union began picketing around 8:30 a.m.. Vail Resorts says it was not expected to impact resort operations.
This isn't the first tense negotiation between the union and the resort company. Back in 2022, The Salt Lake Tribune reported that union members voted to authorize a strike in the event a deal was not reached.
