Photo: @solitudeskipatrolunion
The Solitude Ski Patrol Union (SSPU) announced this week that it secured and approved an “industry-leading” contract with Solitude Mountain Resort after eight months of negotiations that spanned two winters. A social media post from the SSPU says the contract earned 100 percent approval from its bargaining unit, which marks a major milestone for the first ski patrol to unionize under Alterra ownership. The Colorado-based conglomerate purchased Solitude in 2018 and currently owns 12 North American resorts, including Palisades Tahoe, Steamboat, Mammoth Mountain, and others.
The new contract, according to the SSPU, includes a base wage increase of 10 percent for its workers. Returning patrollers, meanwhile, got an 8.25 percent increase going into the 2024/2025 season, meaning they will start with an 18.25 percent higher wage on average, and new patrollers will start with a $24 base wage. Additionally, the union secured $100 monthly stipends for healthcare and health and wellness (each), along with a $1,300 equipment stipend for the season for full-time patrollers. The contract also includes a $45,000 training budget as well as a range of wage adders for patrollers that can add up to $2.50 per hour based on specialist roles.
“Solitude Ski Patrol Union was the first Ski Patrol to unionize under Alterra ownership, and we have proven that a group of eight run-of-the-mill ski patrollers, acting as representatives of a small but mighty mountain’s patrol of a few dozen people, can not only face a multinational conglomerate— but when we do, we can win,” SSPU wrote on Wednesday.
The new collective bargaining agreement will be in place through the spring of 2027. The group voted to unionize in April of 2024, with 70 percent of its 37 patrollers voting in favor of the move. That made them the first group to unionize under ownerships of Alterra Mountain Company.
“Organizing will give us the ability to collaborate with our parent company and allow us to create a workplace worth returning to year after year,” they said.
