SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, Jan. 9, 2025—Members of the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association (PCPSPA) have voted to ratify the contract negotiated by the United Mountain Workers union with Vail Resorts on Tuesday. The agreement, reached after 10-months of negotiations for increased wages, ended a nearly two-week strike. 

“The road to this agreement was anything but easy,” said lead negotiator and 17-year patroller Seth Dromgoole. “Negotiating with Vail Resorts has been an incredibly challenging process, marked by months of persistence and dedication from our board, negotiators, and union members. 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.”

The new contract includes a $2/hr increase to the starting wage for all patrollers and mountain safety personnel, as well as an average wage increase of $4/hr, with some highly skilled roles receiving an average $7.75/hr increase. It also enhances parental leave policies, provides for “industry-leading educational opportunities,” and features a restructured wage scale, according to the union.

“Park City Mountain has reached an agreement with the Park City ski patrol union that is consistent with our company’s wage structure for all patrollers, non-unionized and unionized, while accounting for the unique terrain and avalanche complexity of Park City Mountain,” said president of Vail Resorts’ Mountain Division Bill Rock in a statement. 

He also apologized “to our guests who were impacted by this strike,” and thanked the employees “who worked hard to keep the mountain open and operating safely over the past two weeks.”

The union, which is part of CWA Local 7781 and represents 1,100 ski industry professionals across the West, described the agreement as a “victory” that “will help raise employment standards for all ski industry employees and remind each of them that unions work.” 

The strike "demonstrates the indisputable power of solidarity in collective action. The ski industry—and the country—have been shown that corporations may own the lifts, but they do not own workers or their voice,” said Max Magill, president of the United Mountain Workers.

The strike and subsequent agreement may provide momentum for other ski patrol union negotiations. The Keystone Ski Patrol Union is currently negotiating its first contract with Vail Resorts (patrollers at the resort voted to unionize last year); and with its contract up in May, the Breckenridge Ski Patrol Union is also expected to begin bargaining with the company soon.

Both Vail Resorts and PCPSPA expressed that they were looking forward to Park City patrollers’ return to work. The mountain has been navigating operational disruption, namely long lift lines and limited terrain, as well as an avalanche of bad PR. 

“The safety of guests and the well-being of team members remain the top priority for PCPSPA. Union Members are excited to return to work and look forward to joining their community on the mountain,” said PCPSPA in a statement.

“We look forward to welcoming back the Park City Mountain patrollers in the coming days and moving forward together as one team,” said Rock.