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Keystone Ski Patrol Union holds walk-in protest to send a message to Vail Resorts but keep operations steady

A ski patroller stands with a Keystone Resort avalanche dog on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024.
Katie Young/Keystone Resort

On Wednesday, Dec. 18, the Keystone Ski Patrol Union conducted its first collective action since unionizing last season, according to a press release from the union.

Union representatives say negotiations with Vail Resorts began in September with slow progress. With only about one-fourth of the proposed contract agreed upon so far, the company holds the remainder of the contract in its review while the union waits for a response, the press release states.

The union filed an unfair labor practice charge against Vail Resorts on Oct. 18 alleging that the company failed to provide merit increases to patrollers who earned a raise from last season — something the union believes breaks the status-quo requirement while under negotiations.



During the last bargaining session on Dec. 5, Vail Resorts reportedly presented counter proposals that the union feels unreasonably removed standard contract terms that the company had already agreed upon with other unionized patrols.

In response to this, the union organized a collective action walk-in, a type of protest were people all show up together at the same time to send a message to management without striking or disrupting work, on Wednesday morning to demonstrate solidarity and the patrol’s ability to mobilize. The walk-in comes during a time where Park City Ski Patrol Union has voted to authorize a strike against Vail Resorts for failing to engage in fair negotiations.



The walk-in consisted of the patrollers scheduled to work on Wednesday as well as dozens of others that arrived in support of the movement. In total, roughly 60 patrollers gathered in the parking lot at 7 a.m. to walk into the patrol’s locker room together before work. The union’s bargaining team delivered a letter to Vail Resorts leadership explaining the purpose of the demonstration along with demands for timely and meaningful contract agreements.

The collective action taken this week represents as an act of solidarity with Park City Ski Patrol Union while also notifying Keystone management that ski patrol union members believe Vail Resorts is stalling negotiations and denying Keystone Ski Patrol annual merit increases, according to the statement.

Negotiations are set to resume on Thursday, Dec. 19, where the union hopes to receive a response on previously submitted contract terms.

In response to a request for comment, Keystone Resort Vice President and General Manager Shannon Buhler wrote, “Keystone Resort is pleased to have reached tentative agreements on 10 of 21 items raised by the patrol union since contract negotiations kicked off in September. They shared their wage proposal just two weeks ago on December 4th. Because this is a first-time contract with a new unionized group, this process takes time. We are committed to reviewing all proposals and negotiating in good faith. The union requested to meet again on January 8th  – we look forward to continuing the conversations then. We have great respect for our ski patrollers and all of our team members at the resort.”


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