Without support from her parents and investments she made earlier in life, Allison Perry is sure it would be impossible to make ends meet with her income as a ski patroller at Loveland Ski Area.

In her seven seasons as a patroller, Perry has responded to gruesome medical calls and deaths on the mountain. She documents injuries and skier crashes as part of the accident investigations team. Last year, she was part of a group that helped resuscitate someone on the slope, saving their life after their heart stopped. 

All for $23 an hour. 

Perry is among a group of ski patrollers and paramedics at Loveland Ski Area who want to unionize to advocate for better wages and safer working conditions for a job that has one of the highest rates of injuries among U.S. employees. 

Seventy percent of the 49 patrollers and medics at Loveland Ski area signed the petition, which was sent to the National Labor Relations Board this week, according to the United Professional Ski Patrols of America. To form a union, ski patrollers have to vote in an election conducted by the board, which is generally held four to six weeks after the petition is submitted. 

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