Park City, Utah — In the latest complication for Vail Resorts’ operations at Park City Mountain Resort, workers at the ski resort’s bike park are joining a union.
The Park Record reports that the Park City Bike Patrol Association voted to unionize last month. This includes greater than 50 full-time and part-time workers on bike patrol. They will be part of the Communications Workers of America, which is the same organization that the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association is affiliated with. The group approved a vote on unionization on August 1st, and officially approved becoming a union on August 28th. Many of them are also ski patrollers at Park City Mountain Resort, but this allows them to secure protections for training and benefits.
One of the key reasons for the formation was during daily briefings, Vail Resorts allegedly had them go through captive audience meetings, which are against the National Labor Relations Board’s guidelines. Two unfair labor practices have been filed against Vail Resorts. Vail Resorts denies holding these meetings and has yet to receive these charges.
“This illegal meeting played out the same as many that have been recorded online. While there were no direct threats of retaliation, management described ways that the job would become more difficult following unionization,” stated Jonny Marguet, a bike patroller at Park City Mountain Resort. “What I found most disappointing is that the work we do does not seem to be appreciated by our managers, who are further removed from day-to-day summer mountain operations.”
Unions At Park City Mountain Resort
If you’ve been following the news at Park City Mountain Resort, you probably know that unions aren’t anything new there. There’s the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association, which drew international headlines for its strike against Vail Resorts during the 2024-25 season. There’s also a union of lift mechanics, known as the Park City Lift Maintenance Professional Union.
Bike operations occur full-time during three months of the year, and only part-time during the latter portion of the summer/fall. According to a statement to KPCW by Vail Resorts, mountain biking isn’t a profitable part of the business.
Following the unionization vote, Park City Vice President & COO Deirdra Walsh, who must be thrilled that she’s dealing with another union, issued the following statement:
“While we believe that a direct relationship between our managers and employees creates the strongest team, we respect the outcome of this vote and remain committed to supporting all of our team members at Park City Mountain. Following certification by the National Labor Relations Board, we will work in good faith with the Communications Workers of America, the union representation chosen by our summer bike patrollers.”
Image Credits: Alex Moliski, Park City Mountain Resort
Correction 9/16 5:45 p.m.: A previous version of this article stated that the trail crew was part of this unionization. Vail Resorts confirmed to us that it was only the bike patrol that unionized.
