“We’ve seen quite a bit of movement over the last couple days,” union business manager Quinn Graves told KPCW.
But Rock, the former COO of Park City Mountain, told KPCW the company has consulted local leadership during negotiations.
That includes Park City Mountain Vice President and COO Deirdra Walsh, Vice President of Mountain Operations Mike Lewis and Ski Patrol Director Andy VanHouten.
Nate Thomas is a labor lawyer at Parsons, Behle & Latimer, which is not involved in the Park City Mountain strike or negotiations.
The company says it has paid ski patrol 50% more over the past four seasons, claiming that far outpaces inflation.
The meetings with Vail Resorts and federal mediators this week “have resulted in large steps towards an agreement,” according to Kate Lips, president of the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association, though they are still far from there. “”.
Due to the December walkout by ski patrol and mountain safety employees, contract negotiations are moving more quickly now. 27. .
Jan. saw another mediation meeting between union negotiators and Vail. 3. The meeting is the fourth in five days.
“Over the past few days, there has been a lot of movement,” Quinn Graves, the union business manager, told KPCW. “We feel like we haven’t seen as much movement in the last few days as we have in the previous months. “.”.
Over 200 ski patrol and mountain safety employees were covered by a contract that ended in April 2024.
Prior reports suggested that the patrollers and the resort had reached a provisional agreement on training and education packages, but not on pay or benefits. There has been no announcement of any new agreements.
Bill Rock, president of the Vail Resorts Mountain Division, did not specify who makes the decision to approve or reject union requests.
However, Park City Mountain’s former COO, Rock, told KPCW that the company has consulted local leadership during negotiations. Ski Patrol Director Andy VanHouten, Vice President of Mountain Operations Mike Lewis, and Park City Mountain Vice President and COO Deirdra Walsh are among them.
Lewis and VanHouten are on the company’s negotiating team, according to Rock.
Rock told KPCW Jan, “And just like the union, you know, the union has to go back to their membership with all the things they may or may not agree to, and they actually have to vote to ratify it.”. 2. While we have a team that is highly committed to finding a deal that benefits Deirdra and Mike, we also rely on Deirdra, Mike, Andy, and the team here to help us determine the course we might want to take. “”.
In the past, the parties were discussing specifics in the same room. “Room” is now a video conference call, Graves said, since federal mediators became involved.
She also notes that many aspects of the negotiations are confidential due to the involvement of federal mediators.
Not involved in the Park City Mountain strike or negotiations is Nate Thomas, a labor lawyer at Parsons, Behle and Latimer. “Mediating sessions are always specific to the specific labor dispute,” he said.
On KPCW’s “Local News Hour,” Thomas stated, “Generally speaking, the mediator’s goal is to find common ground and will frequently engage in a sort of’shuttle diplomacy’ from one side to the other, carrying proposals back and forth and helping both sides understand the consequences and impacts of those proposals.”. Frequently, attempts are made to reinterpret those proposals in order to make them more acceptable or intelligible to the opposing side. “.”.
Compared to a few days ago, when it expressed disappointment with Vail’s counteroffers, the union is now speaking more positively about negotiations.
The group wants all of Vail’s U.S. patrollers to receive higher base pay, from $21 to $23, in addition to improved benefits. S. tries to take inflation into account. The company claims that over the last four seasons, it has paid ski patrol 50% more, which is significantly more than inflation.
The next mediation session’s date is unknown to Graves.
Park City Mountain is still operating at a reduced capacity despite more negotiations and snow.
The resort stated that it will open additional terrain this weekend, estimating that 1,900 acres, or roughly 26% of the mountain’s terrain, will be skiable.
January. 3. In order to alleviate crowding at the base of Iron Mountain, the resort announced that the Timberline lift would only load in one direction for 30 minutes.
Guests have been ducking ropes into closed terrain. Throughout the week, skiers reported long lines.
Vail’s stock increased by 2% in January. 3 following a January decline of roughly 6%. 2.
