- The Park City Mountain ski patrol union claims Vail Resorts violated their labor agreement.
- Ski patrollers want the same paid time off benefit that was granted nonunion workers.
- Vail Resorts says new contract terms require negotiation and an amendment to the agreement.
Park City Mountain ski patrollers and Vail Resorts are entangled in another labor dispute.
The Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association claims the Colorado-based resort owner violated its collective bargaining agreement and has filed for arbitration. The association says in a press release that the company has refused to grant Park City ski patrollers a benefit that was rolled out for nonunion Vail ski patrols.
Called Recovery Time Off, it allows ski patrollers to take paid time off for mental health, vacation or physical rehabilitation. The association contends the benefit was granted to nonunion ski patrols in Colorado and, as a result, should be extended to the Park City Mountain ski patrol as well.
The union said it filed for arbitration after numerous meetings with management.
“We are disappointed that Vail Resorts does not view PCPSPA as worthy of valuable time off to recoup in order to continue providing the highest level of care, especially following a particularly traumatic season due to low snow conditions,” according to the press release.
Vail Resorts said in a statement the Park City ski patrol union’s wages, benefits and other terms are set in its collective bargaining agreement.
“When the union is seeking new terms, that requires a negotiation and an amendment to their agreement. We offered to reopen their agreement to negotiate the additional time off they are seeking, but the patrol declined. Instead, they are taking this issue to arbitration under the agreement, and we’ll reach a resolution through that process,” according to the statement.
The arbitration hearing is scheduled for September.
Past ski patrol strike
The current labor agreement was signed in January 2025, marking the end of an unprecedented 13-day ski patrol strike at Park City Mountain, the largest ski resort in the United States. Nearly 200 ski patrollers walked off the job just before the busy holiday season after 10 months of failed negotiations between the union and Vail.
The new contract addressed wages, benefits and career sustainability, including a $2 per hour raise for entry-level patrollers to $23 an hour; an average $4 an hour raise for tenured patrollers; enhanced parental leave policies and educational opportunities; and a restructured wage scale designed to encourage career growth and ensure the retention and wage parity with nonunionized Vail Resorts.
The strike disrupted operations at the resort, particularly over Christmas and New Year’s. Skiers and snowboarders complained about crowded slopes, long lift lines, unsafe conditions and limited open terrain. Vail has brought in ski patrollers from other resorts to keep the mountain open.
