Members of the Park City Mt Utah's ski patrol returned to work Thursday after the resort agreed to boost its pay by $2 an hour, ending a 13-day strike that forced long waits for ski lifts and frustrated a whole lot of shoppers .
According to the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association, which represents 200 employees on the nation's largest ski area, the brand new contract, which is able to remain in effect through 2027, offers entry-level ski patrollers and mountain safety employees a starting salary of $23 an hour.
Experienced ski patrol members earn an extra $4 an hour on average, the union said.
“The tentative agreement meets the interests of both parties and will end the current strike,” the resort and union said in a Thursday joint statement. “Everyone looks forward to restoring normal resort operations.”
Ski patrol members conduct mountain safety operations, reminiscent of avalanche control, and reply to medical emergencies.
The sides negotiated for eight months before the union began its strike on December 27. During the strike, the resort's capability was limited, upsetting a whole lot of guests who traveled long distances with their families.
Minnesota resident Peter Nystrom said he spent greater than $20,000 to send his family of eight to the resort, only to learn of the strike, three-hour lines at ski lifts and potentially unsafe mountain conditions.
“We thought it would be a fun Christmas present to do a once-in-a-lifetime ski trip like this,” Nystrom told NBC News. “The really frustrating thing was just the lack of transparency.
Park City continued his website City officials said they were “pleased that the patrol officer strike has ended and look forward to welcoming our patrol officers back,” adding that more land would turn out to be available soon.
image credit : www.cnbc.com