3:55 p.m. — A spontaneous employee walkout at Breckenridge Resort today exposed flooding, busted pipes, leaking sewage, and weeks without heat or hot water at Breckenridge Terrace, the resort’s employee housing on Airport Road.
Krystal 93 news director Phil Lindeman talked with one liftie who refused to work today. His ground-floor unit flooded when temperatures hit negative 20 degrees Fahrenheit over the weekend. The damage has been mitigation, but his bathroom ceiling has been flooding with sewage for weeks.
The resort offered him housing at Keystone and one day of refunded rent, worth $17. He calls it “a slap in the face.”
Another resident tells Krystal 93 this is her third year at employee housing. She once lived at Sagebrush housing in Keystone, where Breck is offering alternate housing, and says it is 10 times worse than Breck Terrace.
A third resident tells me he and his three roommates feel “underappreciated, undervalued and unwanted.” When they share their concerns with management he says the answer is “we know,” but issues with heat and hot water persist.
He has been sleeping in his uniform to stay warm when the heat goes out.
Why no names?
Krystal 93 agreed to air employee stories without using their names.
Unlike Breck ski patrollers these entry-level employees do not have a union. Most tell me they will be at work tomorrow because they cannot afford to miss it.
Resort responds
Breckenridge COO and VP John Copeland confirms repairs are happening now at the Terrace and calls the situation there “completely unacceptable.”
Copeland also confirms what residents told Krystal 93: The resort has offered alternate housing in Keystone and many employees were out today. He says they called in sick.
Summit County responds
Summit County health and human services reports one formal complaint about conditions at the Terrace, made yesterday, Jan. 21.
The county has been in touch with Breck Resort about conditions and repairs, saying there are no building code or permit violations.
Summit County, Colorado has had extreme cold temperatures. As a result, some of our team members in employee housing have experienced heat and hot water issues. This is completely unacceptable, and mechanical work is in progress to address that. We have offered alternate lodging to every person on our team who is impacted, and we are waiving their housing fees for this time. We have had some Breckenridge team members call in sick today, and we support anyone on our team who needs to take the day off to care for their health or who needs to relocate to the alternate lodging that we are providing. Breckenridge Ski Resort is open and operating today. As always, current lift and terrain status is available on the website, including the current weather hold on our Imperial lift. – Jon Copeland, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Breckenridge Ski Resort
NOON Breckenridge, CO — An impromptu employee protest delayed opening on 16 chairlifts at Breckenridge today. That is nearly half the mountain.
Lift operators and ski instructors tell Krystal 93 they are protesting living conditions at Breckenridge Terrace employee housing on Airport Road.
Residents say heat and hot water has been unreliable for months. Conditions turned potentially unsafe during the weekend freeze when pipes burst and some residents went without heat for 48 hours. In one unit sewage is seeping through the ceiling.
Breckenridge Resort rents and operates many of the units at Breck Terrace, including Building K, where the majority of ground-level units flooded this past weekend.
Residents say the resort has offered them space heaters, or a move to Keystone employee housing. One employee of three years says conditions there are even worse. Other employees say bussing into work from Keystone is not reliable enough. They fear they will be written up for being late.
The Breck Terrace front desk declined to comment and referred Krystal 93 to Breck Resort. No comment yet from the resort.
Just before noon 12 chairlifts are still closed. Peak 6 and upper Peak 8 will not open today.
