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SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, Dec. 31, 2024—Park City ski patrollers went on strike Friday, Dec. 27, after a breakdown in mediated contract negotiations with Park City Mountain-owner Vail Resorts.Park City PCPSPA

In a statement shared online, the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association (PCPSPA) cited “Vail’s bad faith tactics” in a Thursday, Dec. 26, bargaining session, which included that “the company continued to refuse to give a counteroffer on wages or benefits,” as the reason for the walkout. 

The PCPSPA and Vail Resorts have since resumed mediated negotiations, with a session yesterday afternoon and one scheduled for today. 

“We were prepared to mediate with the patrol union last Friday, and we were disappointed when the union instead took the drastic action of a strike,” said Park City Mountain VP and COO Deirdra Walsh yesterday. “Our next scheduled mediation was set for Thursday (Jan. 2), and we were so pleased to learn this morning that the federal mediator has provided us with additional dates, and we will be meeting with her and the union this afternoon and tomorrow. We remain committed to reaching an agreement.” 

The Park City ski patrol union has been negotiating for improved wages and benefits for new and experienced patrollers since its previous contract with Vail Resorts expired in April. The union has filed multiple complaints with the National Labor Relations Board accusing Vail Resorts of unfair labor practices.    

“Our proposal is rooted in economic data and market comparisons of other ski patrols,” said PCPSPA in a statement. “We want our members to make a livable wage so they can return to this job year after year. Building a more skilled and experienced patrol will improve the safety for everyone at this resort and the ski industry at large.”

Park City Mountain is currently operating with one third of its typical patrol staff, according to a Town Lift report, and PCPSPA has raised concerns about safety on the mountain, including alleged changes to the injury response protocol, which it deemed “an unacceptable departure from the usual standard of medical care we give on the mountain.”

A Park City Mountain spokesperson asserted, “There have been no changes to our incident response protocols as a result of the union’s actions.” 

The resort has brought staff in from Vail Resorts’ other properties as temporary replacements during the work stoppage. The union has said these “scabs”—a term referring to a person who fills in for striking union workers—lack the knowledge of the mountain and experience to do the job. 

Vail Resorts described the employees as “highly experienced patrol leaders from Park City and our other mountain resorts,” and added, “These individuals bring expertise, certifications, and professionalism and have been trained on their assigned terrain area by the resort's patrol leaders.” (While nearly 200 Park City ski patrollers are in the union, some Park City patrol personnel are not unionized.) 

The strike has had operational impacts on the resort. In a video shared to social media yesterday, Walsh acknowledged that the mountain has not been able to open as much terrain as it would like following 21 inches of snow on Dec. 27, which has resulted in operational delays and long lift lines. She cited below average snowfall as well as the work stoppage for “the reality of the guest experience at Park City Mountain over the past couple of days.” 

“Each day we are opening the terrain that is safe to open with the people we have,” Walsh continued. “Today, that meant lift availability on the Canyons Village side of our resort was limited.”

Members of other unionized ski patrols at Eldora and Loveland, neither of which is owned by Vail Resorts, have picketed outside Vail Resorts’ headquarters in Broomfield, Colo., in support of the Park City patrol strike.