Editor’s note: Stories in this list received the most page views on swiftcharge.net from Jan. 9-16, 2022.
I didn’t ski much during the holidays. I was blacked out at Park City Mountain Resort and crowded out at Deer Valley. There was no possible reason to venture into town. While I wasn’t there in person, I was getting almost hourly updates from people who were.
Tom Clyde: This is the year we broke it
Babysitters make more than $15 an hour. So do dog walkers. The grocery store is advertising a starting wage of $24 per hour. And none of them have to haul someone with a bleeding head off an icy hill in sub-zero temperatures.
The dispute between the union and Vail Resorts is the most recent controversy involving the Colorado firm since its arrival in the Park City ski industry nearly nine years ago.
Vail Resorts, PCMR ski patrol reach tentative deal, likely averting a strike
The key point in the talks is the current starting wage of $15 per hour. The union argues the wage is too low for ski patrollers, who are trained for specialized duties like treating victims of accidents on the slopes, evacuating lifts and avalanche control.
PCMR ski patrollers overwhelmingly authorize a strike if talks with Vail Resorts collapse (updated)
According to the union, the negotiations resulted in an average hourly wage of $19. The dollar figure gives “us wage parity with Colorado resorts, meaning when the state raises minimum wages we will receive that wage bump.”
PCMR ski patrol union ratifies deal with Vail Resorts, ending possibility of a strike