Image Credit: Crested Butte Mountain Resort

Crested Butte, Colorado It’s beginning to look like another tricky situation for Vail Resorts is developing at Crested Butte Mountain Resort.

The Crested Butte Lift Maintenance Union was formed on June 23, 2023. Since early 2024, the Crested Butte Lift Maintenance Union has been negotiating with Vail Resorts on a new contract. However, progress has been slow, leading to the possibility of a strike. Some measures being negotiated include increased wages and who should be paying for personal protective equipment.

“We are deeply passionate about our mountain and take great pride in the work we do here,” said Thomas Pearman, a lift mechanic and president of the CBLM Union. “It is incredibly fulfilling to keep our equipment running smoothly, and we are committed to building a sustainable career for our skilled mechanics and electricians. We have the most beautiful office anyone could ask for. But we can’t pay our bills with sunsets.”

This week, the Crested Butte Lift Maintenance Union authorized a strike. While this doesn’t mean that they’re going on strike imminently, it also means that it could happen at any time.

In response to a prior article we wrote about the situation, Vail Resorts issued the following statement to Unofficial Networks:

Background:

  • “We have great respect for our lift maintenance team at Crested Butte Mountain and are working hard to reach an agreement.
  • The wage proposal we presented to the union this month includes significant wage increases, consistent with our company’s wage structure for all maintenance team members, non-unionized and unionized.
  • In addition, of the 12 outstanding articles still open for negotiation, 10 of them are currently in the union’s court, and we are awaiting their response.
  • We have our next bargaining session scheduled for next week.
  • The CBMR lift maintenance union is comprised of 12 members.
  • As this is a first-time contract with a new unionized group, there are more topics to discuss and work through as we build the contract from scratch. New contracts simply take more time, and we have a long history of reaching agreements with unionized employee groups.
  • If the union decides to take drastic action, Crested Butte Mountain will remain open in service of our employees, guests, and the community, with safety as our number one priority.”

“We continue to negotiate in good faith with the union that represents the lift maintenance team at Crested Butte Mountain Resort and are making steady progress,” said JD Chrichton, the General Manager of Crested Butte. “We’ve reached tentative agreements on roughly half of the articles and are committed to reaching a resolution on the full contract. We have tremendous respect for our lift maintenance employees and all of our team members, who are the heartbeat of our resort.”

We’ll keep you posted regarding the latest developments in this situation.

Image Credits: Crested Butte Mountain Resort, Crested Butte Lift Maintenance Union/@alt_patrol_backup

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