Colorado Ski Patrollers Ratify First Contract With Vail Resorts

Yahoo

24-02-2025

Following several months of contract negotiations, the Keystone Ski Patrol Union (KSPU) has reached an agreement with Vail Resorts. The patrollers tentatively announced an agreement with Vail Resorts on February 17th, 2025. As of February 24th, 2025, the unit's first union contract has been officially ratified.
Following their unionization, the patrol unit had been in contract negotiations with Vail Resorts since September of 2024. The months that followed were eventful as KSPU filed an unfair labor practice suit and performed a walk-in demonstration.Want to keep up with the best stories and photos in skiing? Subscribe to the new Powder To The People newsletter for weekly updates.KSPU is one of several unionized patrol units and lift maintenance teams that have undergone negotiations with Vail Resorts this season.KSPU's new contract, which represents 81 employees, includes items that offer incentives for and encourage career growth within the ski patrol profession.Specifically, the contract offers increased compensation for patrollers who hold paramedic, nursing, and EMT certifications and other specialized skills like language interpreters, sawyers, and chairlift evacuations.
The contract also includes career growth opportunities like training for higher medical certifications, advanced avalanche certifications, and other specialized courses. It also includes a wage compression adjustment, which was a key negotiation point for other patrol units as well. A press release from KSPU announcing the contract's ratification notes that every member of Keystone Ski Patrol will receive a pay increase as a result of the new contract. Increases for those in advanced, specialist, and long-term positions will be significant. The contract is set to run through May 31, 2027. "The Union believes this contract is a huge step towards ski patrolling as a sustainable career, and better reflects the value of work the ski patrol delivers," says the press release. Items in KSPU's new contract are indicative of several issues that have been key bargaining points between not just Keystone's patrol unit but Park City Professional Ski Patrol Unit, Crested Butte Lift Maintenance, and other unionized patrol units currently in negotiations with resort parent companies. Merit-based wage increases, benefits, and education opportunities are all factors that the collective ski patrol community has identified as necessary for patrolling to be a sustainable long-term career.