The bike patrol and trail crew are two summer operations at the resort that are largely composed of employees who are ski patrollers during the winter, according to a press release.
A majority of the employees are part of the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association, which ratified a new contract with Vail Resorts following a high-profile strike during the holiday season this past winter.
By petitioning for union representation, the bike patrol and trail crew are moving to become their own union. The group is represented by the Communications Workers of America Union, which also represents the ski patrol.
The group wants to bring summer wages up to meet winter wages.
“We are aware of the petition filed by bike patrollers and trail crew at Park City Mountain,” the resort said in a statement. “We believe a direct connection to our employees fosters the strongest working relationship between our employees and their resort leaders, but we respect their right to file this petition and are engaging in this process.”
The summer time employees seeking to unionize are required to have medical certificates and are “asked to participate in lift evacuation exercises, and many other skilled and dangerous jobs,” the release says.
Bike haul is offered for three months of the year at Park City Mountain, along with an additional month of reduced operations. It is not currently a profitable line of business, according to the resort spokesperson.
The Park City Mountain spokesperson also said summer employees who perform lift evacuations are compensated extra for their work. They added that operations duties at the resort during summer are less complex than in winter.
