On December 27, 2024, roughly 200 ski patrol and mountain safety staffers at Park City Mountain Resort (PCMR) in Park City, Utah, walked off the job. The strike, organized by the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association (PCPSPA), caused long lift lines and closures on much of the mountain, frustrating out-of-town guests and costing Vail Resorts, owner of PCMR, millions.
PCMR is experiencing deja vu, as some of its summer operation employees are seeking union representation. Will the lifts stop spinning this summer? Perhaps next summer? PCPSPA says the ball is in Vail’s court.
Asking for a living wage
The ski patrol strike at PCMR began on a Friday, just two days after the Christmas holiday, undoubtedly interrupting vacationers’ holiday ski plans. After nearly two weeks and a 6.5% hit on the stock market, Vail Resorts settled with the PCPSPA on January 8, 2025.
Tensions were building in the weeks and months leading up to the December 27th ski patrol strike. “We had been working without a contract, and we had been in negotiations with Vail for about nine months,” Syd Hyer, PCPSPA Mountain Village Vice President, told us. “There was little to no progress on specifics like the wages and benefits section of our contract, and we went on strike.”
PCMR ski patrollers were mainly asking for higher pay so they could earn a living wage. Now, many of those same patrollers are asking PCMR and Vail to step up again, but during summer operations. While a significant portion of the summer trail crew and bike patrol staff at PCMR are ski patrol during the winter season, they don’t carry the same contract they received after the strike into the summer season. They also don’t carry the same—or any—union representation. That could all change soon as both the PCMR bike patrol and trail crew have filed to join the PCPSPA.
In a statement written by Hyer and Corlan Williamson, PCPSPA’s Treasurer, announcing the bike patrol and trail crew’s desire to join, the union said: “We hope to have union representation year round as opposed to our current situation, one in which some people are employed year round with the resort but only union members during the winter. One goal of this new union is to bring summer wages up to meet winter wages.”
Hyer also highlighted the challenging and often hazardous tasks assigned to those on the bike patrol and trail crew, including operating chainsaws. They are also required to be trained in and assist with lift evacuations, as well as in first-aid and medical emergency response situations.
Response from Park City Mountain Resort/Vail Resorts
Singletracks received a response from a PCMR spokesperson regarding its trail crew and bike patrollers seeking to unionize. While the resort believes that a direct connection between resort leaders and employees fosters the strongest working relationships, they respect the trail crew and bike patrollers’ right to seek representation.
PCMR also claims to be engaging in the process.
Regarding the same pay across both summer and winter, PCMR seems to have a difference of opinion. The resort stated that while it is happy to offer year-round employment to some of its employees, it claims that the scope of work is simply less complex than its winter operations. They also clarified that employees involved in lift evacuations are already compensated extra.
A distinction is made between a “bike park,” which PCMR says they are not, and a “bike haul.” Park City is a spider web of trails, with bike park resorts like Deer Valley’s trails bleeding into public trail systems. Chairlifts are everywhere, with a lift even heading out of downtown. PCMR also has lifts that they turn into “bike hauls” during the summer, giving riders a lift option.
The trails, however, aren’t PCMR’s, with the majority of them being built and maintained by the Mountain Trails Foundation. Yes, you can ride a PCMR lift to access them, but you can also pedal up trails like Mother Urban and Jenni’s.
Along with PCMR saying they aren’t a bike park, they also stated that the bike haul portion of their operations isn’t profitable.
“[PCMR] is saying that they’re not a bike park business, so they don’t need to treat their employees as if they’re running a lucrative business,” Hyer said. Hyer also claimed that the summer trail crew doesn’t build or maintain mountain biking trails. Instead, the “trail crew” is working on winter ski runs, cutting brush, and removing logs for the upcoming winter season. While summer operations such as the bike haul may not be profitable, Hyer argues that the summer trail crew has an impact on the overall earnings of PCMR and Vail Resorts.
Recent CEO transition at Vail Resorts
In January, we reported on a viral letter from a claimed investor calling for the firing of Vail’s “Evil Empire” leadership. It appears that the dismal company performance in recent years, coupled with external pressure, has prompted a leadership change.
In May, Vail Resorts announced that Kirsten Lynch had stepped down as CEO and director of the Board. In her place, Rob Katz has stepped into the CEO role. Katz had been serving as an Executive Chairperson, and previously served in the CEO role from 2006 to 2021. He also served as the Lead Director of Vail Resorts from 2003 to 2006, and has served on the board since 1996. He’s been involved with the company in one way or another since 1991, according to a press release.
“Rob has a strong track record of driving innovation and executing consistent performance at Vail Resorts and has played a critical role in the development of Vail Resorts’ operations and long-term strategy for over the past three decades,” wrote the company in a press release. “Rob’s 16 years as CEO included reinvigorating the Company during times of industry stagnation and challenging macro environments. We look forward to continuing to work closely with him to ensure that Vail Resorts consistently delivers for our employees, guests, communities, and shareholders as the worldwide ski industry leader.”
Whether or not the leadership change will satisfy investors and benefit the employees on the ground remains to be seen.
Stuck in a waiting game
For now, PCMR bike patrol and trail crew staffers are stuck in a waiting game. The PCPSPA submitted a petition for the groups to join the National Labor Relations Board, a process expected to take four to six weeks.
They also provided an option for Vail and PCMR to voluntarily recognize the summer crew as a part of the union and begin contract negotiations. However, as of August 6th, Vail has not responded.
“I think it’s really important for people to understand that these workers are highly skilled, and they are really good at their jobs,” Hyer concluded. “They train for hours and hours, and they perform a lot of hazardous tasks. They’re simply asking for their pay to reflect that.”
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