The offer from Vail Resorts has left the ski patrol union “deeply disappointed”

Park City, Utah – Following months of unsuccessful negotiations, the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association has voiced dissatisfaction with a counter-offer made by Vail Resorts.

The resort company’s offer “falls significantly short” of the union’s requests, the union said in a statement sent Saturday morning.

“Although the Union and the Company have met for bargaining 20 times since May with progress on other contract items, the Company’s most recent proposal falls significantly short of addressing the membership’s expectations for fair compensation,” the statement continues. “[Vail Resorts’] counter-offer includes less than a 0.5% raise and removes foundational elements from the current contract.”

Deirdra Walsh, the vice president and chief operating officer of Park City Mountain Resort, delivered a statement on behalf of Vail Resorts.

Walsh states, in part, that Park City Mountain is working in good faith with the union that represents its ski patrollers to come to an agreement that will continue to show how much we value our patrollers and the visitor service they give at the resort. “The average pay for ski patrollers at Park City Mountain and throughout the corporation has climbed significantly over the last three years, well exceeding the rate of wage inflation, making these rates extremely competitive. With pay this year that would once more surpass wage inflation, our salary proposal includes additional increases in line with how we annually compensate all employees.

At about 8:30 a.m., the union started picketing. According to Vail Resorts, it is not anticipated to have an effect on resort operations.

The union and the resort company had previously engaged in contentious negotiations. Our content sharing colleagues at The Salt Lake Tribune reported back in 2022 that, should a settlement not be reached, union members had decided to authorize a strike.