As ski patrollers in Park City celebrate their successful strike , the ski industry is left to clean up a PR mess that could mean a broader loss of trust from customers and the ski towns resorts call home.
State of play: Patrollers at Park City Mountain Resort won raises averaging $4 an hour in a contract their union ratified late Wednesday after a 13-day strike brought chaos to the mountain during the busy holiday tourism season.
Catch up quick: Vail Resorts, PCMR’s owner, deployed about 50 employees to keep the resort’s ski patrol operational when some 200 unionized safety workers walked off the job Dec. 27 after nine months of negotiations.
- Still, the vast majority of lifts and runs remained closed despite abundant fresh powder.
- Skiers waited in hourslong lift lines that funnelled them into a reduced number of crowded, lower-level runs after paying up to $328 for a one-day ticket to enjoy ” the largest ski resort in the US .”
The latest: An Illinois skier who visited Park City during the holiday filed a class-action federal lawsuit Thursday on behalf of himself and “thousands” of guests, alleging Vail failed to warn customers that a strike was imminent and would affect their visit…