The ski patrol union at Keystone Resort won better pay for all and much better pay for highly skilled positions in a new contract.
Most of the 81 union patrollers approved the contract Feb. 22. This is the first union contract at Keystone, bringing the starting wage to $22.50 per hour. Some skilled positions earn at least $2 more per hour.
“The union is proud to announce that every member of the Keystone Ski Patrol will receive a pay increase from the implementation of this contract,” spokesman Jake Randall said in a statement. “The union believes this contract is a huge step towards ski patrolling as a sustainable career, and better reflects the value of work the ski patrol delivers.”
Earning the most in this new contract are patrollers with advanced skills, including medical pros like EMTs and paramedics, sawyers, and those trained in chairlift evacuation. (Unlike neighboring Breckenridge, Keystone does not have a large group of avalanche technicians.)
“Keystone Resort and the Keystone Ski Patrol Union are pleased to announce that they have reached a new tentative agreement,” the resort sent in a joint release before the weekend vote. “The union’s bargaining committee is unanimously endorsing ratification by its unit … Together, the resort and union are looking forward to a great rest of the season.”
But the icing on the cake — this contract is retroactive to April 2024, when Keystone patrollers adopted a union.
“This covers us this entire season,” Randall tells Krystal 93 news director Phil Lindeman. “We’ll be getting back pay for any wage increases.”
The contract is good through the 2026-2027 season, and it came sooner than expected. Talks had been slow but consistent until the holidays, when a Park City union strike put ski-town labor under the microscope.
This sped up negotiations. In January a union spokesman said members were disappointed with the resort, when resort leadership implied advanced medical training was not worth extra pay.
Up next: the Breckenridge patrol union dives into contract negotiations this summer, its third since forming in 2021.
Ski patrols at both mountains are represented by Communication Workers of America.