Lift Mechanics and Electricians at Park City Mountain Resort, UT, Looking to Unionize

Today, lift mechanics and electricians at Park City Mountain Resort, UT, submitted a petition for a representation election to the National Labor Relations Board. They are organizing as the Park City Lift Maintenance Professional Union under CWA 7781, the United Professional Ski Patrols of America. The petition was submitted with 80% support. If successful, they will be the first ski resort mechanics in the country to unionize.

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The members of the mechanics team face dangerous work conditions, chronic understaffing, and low pay that is not commensurate with the precarity of their work or cost of living. These issues contribute to constant employee turnover, which makes it impossible to cultivate a crew of experienced mechanics, and their work often goes unappreciated despite being essential to the resort’s functioning. The workers have decided that self-advocacy as a unionized crew will combat these issues, and create a safe and equitable working environment for all.

“The prosperity, happiness, and safety of the mechanics and electricians in Lift Maintenance has been a discussion for years. Having a voice and the opportunity to negotiate with our employer is paramount to the retention of mechanics and electricians, as well as experience, in our department.”

– Liesl Jenkins, a lift mechanic at Park City Mountain Resort

CWA 7781 currently represents over 650 ski patrollers in the Mountain West and Pacific Northwest, and recently added the Purgatory Resort Bike Patrol to their ranks. The petition filed by the lift mechanics and electricians represents the first resort maintenance workers in the country to organize, and shows the growth of the labor movement in the ski industry in general. We are confident that with 80% support, this petition will be the first step in a successful organizing effort, and look forward to welcoming the Park City Lift Maintenance Professional Union to our ranks.