Holiday skiers at Utah’s Park City, the largest US ski resort, reported long lift lines and some closed trails on Tuesday as a strike by ski patrol workers entered its fifth day. The strike, which started on December 18, was called by nearly 200 ski patrol and safety workers over demands for higher pay. The union, the Park City Professional Ski Patrol, is seeking an entry-level base wage of $23 an hour, up from the current $21.
Park City remained open on Tuesday, and many ski patrol workers were still on the job, according to Vail Resorts, the company that owns the resort. The company said it does not disclose staffing figures, but the union reported that typically 120 people are on patrol, but only 30 to 35 were on duty on Tuesday.
Vail Resorts claims to have met 24 of the union’s 27 demands since the ski patrol’s contract expired in April. The company has increased ski patrol wages by more than 50% over the past four ski seasons, pushing the average hourly wage to over $25.
The union, however, claims that the company has brought in scabs from other resorts to work at Park City, and that the resort has been operating with inadequate staffing. The strike has also coincided with the busiest ski week of the year, making the situation particularly challenging for holiday skiers.
Despite the strike, Park City resumed same-day lift ticket sales on Tuesday after suspending them on Monday.