The Park Metropolis Ski Patrol, as a part of the Park Metropolis Skilled Ski Patrol Affiliation (PCPSPA), went on strike on Friday morning, with 204 mountain security personnel and ski patrollers not signing in for work and happening strike. The mountain remained open on Friday as Vail Resorts leveraged “skilled patrol leaders from Park Metropolis Mountain and our different mountain resorts” to take care of security on the mountain, Park Metropolis Mountain Vice President and Chief Working Officer Deirdra Walsh stated in a press release.
The unfair labor practices strike comes after ski patrollers and Vail Resorts met with a mediator on Thursday evening, the assertion confirmed.
Park Metropolis Ski Patrol final negotiated a contract with Vail Resorts in 2022. That negotiation took 18 months, and an settlement was reached after the union handed a strike authorization vote, in keeping with an Instagram submit by the group. However the group didn’t finally strike in 2022.
That contract expired in April 2024. Since then, Vail Resorts and the Park Metropolis Ski Patrol have labored towards a brand new contract. Negotiations stalled on Thursday. In response to Cole Valentino, a ski patroller and one of many negotiators for the bargaining unit, the patrollers went on strike for 2 causes.
First, they declare Vail Resorts is negotiating in unhealthy religion, and second, to enhance compensation for the workers.
Valentino famous that the negotiations have been ongoing for practically 10 months. After the union proposed a compensation package deal in September, it took Vail Resorts 55 days to reply. Lastly, he stated that Vail didn’t convey a counter-proposal on its wages article mediation on Thursday, which spurred the strike.
“We’re deeply disillusioned the patrol union has walked out of mediation and chosen drastic motion that makes an attempt to disrupt mountain operations in the course of the vacation season, given we invested considerably in patrol with their wages rising greater than 50% over the previous 4 seasons, and now we have reached agreements on 24 of the 27 present contract phrases,” Walsh stated.
Park Metropolis Ski Patrol: What They Need
Park Metropolis Ski Patrol calls for 3 adjustments, in keeping with a submit on its official Instagram web page: securing a dwelling wage (rising base wages from $21 to $23 per hour, together with an annual price of dwelling adjustment, wage parity, and incentivized certification), combatting wage compression with “truthful” compensation for skilled and expert senior patrollers, and improved advantages for healthcare, PTO, vacation pay, and parental go away.
Vail Resorts famous that, along with the over 50% enhance in wages over the previous 4 seasons, the present Park Metropolis Mountain patrol proposal will increase wages one other 4% for almost all of patrollers and offers $1,600 per patroller for tools.
Whereas the 2 sides have been in negotiation for months, the strike has been brewing. The patrollers voted to authorize the strike on Dec. 13 earlier than hanging in the present day.
The Park Metropolis Ski Patrol Union famous that Vail Resorts was sending staff from different resorts to cross the picket line on a Dec. 21 Instagram submit. The Union claimed that these staff “have no idea this resort, have little or no medial nor life evacuation coaching,” and have no idea Park Metropolis protocols.
Vail Resorts reassured skiers that operations would proceed safely on the mountain.
“We need to reassure skiers and snowboarders, our staff, and this neighborhood that regardless of the union’s actions, Park Metropolis Mountain will stay open with security as our high precedence, and all deliberate terrain might be open due to skilled patrol leaders from Park Metropolis Mountain and our different mountain resorts,” Walsh stated.
Walsh continued that Vail Resorts was stunned by the union’s actions and had deliberate for a full day of mediation.
“Sadly, that won’t go ahead as deliberate, as our negotiating staff should now shift focus in the present day to operational continuity. We stay dedicated to reaching an settlement,” she stated.
The Ski Patrol Union stated it’s at present on an indefinite strike, but additionally stated it want to safe a good contract as rapidly as attainable.
“We’re open and obtainable to satisfy with the corporate at any time and hope in addition they select to take action,” Valentino stated. “We need to return to the occupation that we love.”
