Jackson Hole Mountain Resort Ski Patrol is on track to unionize.
On Nov. 20, patrollers announced they had filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to hold a vote soon.
Bobby Griffith is a full-time ski patroller and avalanche forecaster working at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort for the past 15 years. He told KHOL that the patrollers are a tight-knit team. Of 88 eligible safety professionals, Griffith said 93% signed onto the petition to unionize.
“It's about supporting the workers and trying to just elevate the professionalism and the sustainability of a career here,” he said.
In the announcement, posted to Instagram, patrollers cite challenges of the dangerous job and wealth inequality in Jackson Hole as they seek “reasonable and equitable compensation.”
The petition follows similar efforts in recent years from ski patrollers and lift maintenance workers around the country to unionize with United Mountain Workers, which already represents 1,100 of those workers.
That’s the same union that successfully negotiated contracts for ski patrol at Park City Mountain Resort over a weeks-long unionization push last season and earlier this month at Breckenridge Ski Resort.
Resort Vice President of Marketing Ned Wonson said the corporate team was aware of the patroller’s statement and will work toward an outcome that supports mountain employees and guests.
“We care deeply about every member of our team, and we value the important role ski patrol plays at our resort. We are committed to listening, engaging respectfully and continuing open dialogue,” Wonson said in a statement.
