Park City Ski Patrol Union Accuses Vail Resorts of Contract Violation
The Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association (PCPSPA) has filed for arbitration against Vail Resorts, accusing Park City Mountain's owner of violating its collective bargaining agreement by not giving them a time-off benefit they said was offered to non-union patrollers at other Vail-owned resorts.
The benefit, recovery time off (RTO)-Vail Resorts called it winter recovery time (WRT)-would allow patrollers to "take paid time off for mental health, vacation or physical rehab reasons," according to the PCPSPA.
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The union added, in an email, that their contract, ratified in January 2025 after the widely-publicized strike at Park City Mountain, has "parity language" that includes PCPSPA being granted certain benefits that non-unionized patrols in Colorado receive. They said, in an Instagram post, that Vail Resorts "refuses to honor our parity clause," despite months of meetings.
"[RTO] was granted to non-unionized Patrols in Colorado and, as a result, should have been granted to PCPSPA as well," the union said.
When asked, a spokesperson for Vail Resorts didn't comment specifically on the union's characterization of benefit parity in the contract. But they said in a statement that the PCPSPA's collective bargaining agreement sets wages, benefits, and other terms. When the union is seeking new terms, that requires a negotiation and an amendment, the spokesperson said.
"We offered to reopen their agreement to negotiate the additional time off they are seeking, but the patrol declined," the spokesperson continued. "Instead, they are taking this issue to arbitration under the agreement, and we'll reach a resolution through that process."
The Salt Lake Tribune reported that the union asserted that Vail Resort's offer for reopening negotiations came with a multi-year contract extension. The union said this would hinder future bargaining, "as our workplace and economic environment is constantly changing." The current contract lasts until next April.
The two parties are expected to go to arbitration-a way of settling disputes outside of court-in September. The PCPSPA said in their Instagram post that the Crested Butte Professional Ski Patrol Association and the Keystone Ski Patrol Union have also filed for arbitration against Vail Resorts.
"It is deeply disappointing to our unit that Vail is asking us to beg for a benefit that they are not only freely giving to other non-unionized patrols but a benefit that we have already negotiated for," the PCPSPA said, according to the Tribune.
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This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 1:07 PM.