Telluride Ski resort. Photo: Murray Foubister // Wikimedia Commons
Telluride ski patrollers have rejected a final contract offer from the resort owner. As the Colorado Sun reports, the failure to reach an agreement means workers will likely strike during the upcoming holiday season.
The contract between the resort and the Telluride Professional Ski Patrol Association (TPSPA) expired at the end of August, kicking off negotiations between the parties. Last month, the 72-member ski patrol union voted unanimously to authorize a strike after a deal was not reached. On Monday, all but one member of the union, as well as the newly-formed ski patrol supervisors union, voted to reject a final offer from the resort.
The proposed deal, which resort owner Chuck Horning called his “last, best and final offer,” was for a nine percent increase in pay for first-year patrollers, pay increases for patrollers with emergency medicine and avalanche training, and five percent annual cost of living increases in the second and third years of employment. Meanwhile, the patrollers are seeking at least $30 an hour for new workers, paid time off as well as stipends for health insurance and gear – citing stagnant pay and increasing cost of living expenses.
“We are naturally disappointed that the ski patrol voted down our fair and equitable offer, and did not consider the well-being of this entire community. If the ski patrol chooses to strike, everyone here suffers,” said Telluride Ski & Golf spokesperson Nancy Clark in a statement.
“It seems like they are more interested in trying to belittle us rather than talk with us and negotiate with us,” ski patrol union president Graham Hoffman told the Sun. “I find it utterly laughable that they talk about impacts to the community when we are a part of this community. This company has shown time and time again that it just does not care. I do not think this company has ever made a decision that benefits this community.”
Hoffman added that no more negotiations are currently scheduled, and a strike through the holidays is more likely than not.
