(Reuters) -Vacation skiers at Utah’s Park Metropolis (NYSE:), the largest U.S. ski resort, reported on social media that they had been encountering lengthy raise strains and a few closed trails on Tuesday as a strike by ski patrol employees entered its fifth day.
Practically 200 ski patrol and security employees are on strike over calls for for greater pay at Park Metropolis Mountain Resort, which is owned by Vail Resorts Inc (NYSE:), demanding an entry-level base wage of $23 an hour, up from the present $21, in accordance with an emailed assertion from the ski patrol union.
This week is the busiest ski week of the yr.
Park Metropolis remained open on Tuesday, and most of the ski patrol had been nonetheless working, Vail Resorts stated in an emailed assertion. The corporate stated in an electronic mail that it doesn’t disclose staffing figures.
The union, the Park Metropolis Skilled Ski Patrol, stated in its electronic mail that there are sometimes 120 folks on patrol, however that on Tuesday there have been between 30 and 35.
The union, in a submit on social media, stated Vail Resorts had “flown in scabs” from different resorts to work at Park Metropolis.
Sara Huey, a spokesperson for Vail Resorts, stated in an electronic mail that the corporate had met 24 of the union’s 27 calls for for the reason that ski patrol’s contract expired in April. She supplied no specifics on the calls for the corporate had not met.
Huey stated Vail had elevated ski patrol wages by greater than 50% throughout the previous 4 ski seasons, pushing the typical hourly wage to over $25.
The 7,300-acre ski resort didn’t promote raise tickets this week, in accordance with native media experiences and a Park Metropolis worker who declined to supply their identify, leaving the resort open just for annual cross holders.
Vail Resorts operates greater than three dozen ski resorts, together with Vail and Breckenridge in Colorado, Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia, Canada, and Stowe in Vermont.
