The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“We don’t want to have to go on strike to be treated fairly, but we will do what we have to do to get a fair contract”
By Kendra Walker
Noting unfair compensation and drawn-out negotiations with Vail Resorts for a formal contract, the Crested Butte Lift Maintenance Union is prepared for a potential strike depending on the results of next week’s negotiations with Vail. Earlier this week, the union members passed a strike authorization vote, started a petition for support with over 600 signatures and created a GoFundMe fundraiser that has raised nearly $2,000 so far to help cover lost wages if a strike occurs.
“Last night we passed a strike authorization vote with an overwhelming majority and today are starting a strike fund to help cover our lost wages if and when we do go on strike,” said union president Thomas Pearman. “We don’t want to have to go on strike to be treated fairly, but we will do what we have to do to get a fair contract.”
The Crested Butte Lift Maintenance Union, currently comprised of 12 members, formed in June 2023 and has been engaged in negotiations for a contract since January 2024. They submitted a wage proposal in March 2024 and Vail finally came back this month with a formal response. “We were offered the same wages we currently receive, presented as ‘the best we can do,’” said Pearman. “In the meantime, people haven’t gotten raises in two years. Given the increasing cost of living in the Gunnison Valley, this response is unacceptable for our membership. It’s really frustrating for everyone.”
He continued, “We all love the mountain and enjoy the work that we do, but we want to be able to make this a sustainable career. With rising costs, it’s really difficult. We don’t think the resort’s minimum wage ($21/hour) is fair to people in a hazardous job like we are.”
A statement on the union’s GoFundMe page reads, “Over the past year and a half, our department has experienced nearly 50% turnover. The demanding nature of Lift Maintenance, coupled with the hazardous conditions, has led many to seek employment elsewhere—often in positions that offer better pay and safer working environments.”
“It is deeply disheartening to hear from dedicated employees who love their jobs but are compelled to leave due to rising living costs and the challenges of finding affordable housing in our area. It has become increasingly difficult to retain employees under these conditions. We respectfully urge decision-makers to reconsider our wage proposal to ensure fair compensation that reflects the current economic realities we face. We are advocating for a living wage to help retain our skilled workers and ensure a stable and safe working environment for all.”
Pearman said that the union has another negotiation meeting with Vail Resorts scheduled for next week. “Hopefully they come back with something else,” he said, but the union is prepared to go on strike if they feel that negotiations have come to a dead end. The union already has filed an unfair labor practice charge against Vail, and Pearman said Vail has not responded.
“If we do go on strike, we hope that Vail would see that we are serious about not being willing to take the current wages. Hopefully it would lead to a fair contract that we’re able to live with.”
Should a CBMR lift maintenance strike occur, Pearman said the mountain wouldn’t have any local lift maintenance workers. As with the Park City ski patrol strike over the holidays, Vail would most likely bring in non-unionized team members, “people that aren’t familiar with the mountain and don’t have experience with the specific lifts we have,” noted Pearman.
The Crested Butte News reached out to CBMR management for comment. “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 CBMR general manager and vice president JD Crichton. “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.”
CBMR communications manager Katie Lyons provided additional information. “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.
She continued, “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.”
These developments come on the heels of last Friday’s power outage in Mt. Crested Butte, when CBMR lost power for about three hours and chairlifts were down during that time. Pearman said the crew immediately started running on the auxiliary power to get people off the lifts. “An all-mountain power outage is kind of the worst-case scenario for us. That has never happened since I started working there,” said Pearman. “But everyone worked together pretty well to get everybody off the lifts efficiently. That shows how much local experience matters. We’re a small crew and I’m proud of the guys and how efficient we were.”
Ski patroller Ashley Brown gave the lift maintenance crew a huge shoutout for their work during the power outage. “Lift maintenance were the real heroes in getting all those lifts spinning and everybody taken off in a good timely manner as opposed to doing a rope rescue,” she said. “They are still working without a contract, Vail Resorts has been using some of the same stall tactics with them that they were using in Park City and I think bringing some attention to that would be great, especially because they did kick ass (on Friday).”
The Paradise Lift was also down several days in a row earlier this week. Lyons said CBMR is troubleshooting an electrical issue but did not have additional information as of press time.
The Crested Butte Lift Maintenance Union has also started a petition for support, which totaled 649 signatures as of Wednesday. “Our ski gear endures significant wear and tear due to the nature of the job, intensifying the pinch on our wallets as we regularly replace or repair our equipment,” reads the petition. “Such a cost should be seen as an investment in the workforce by Vail Resorts, considering they have reported a net income of $268.1 million in 2023 (Source: Vail Resorts Annual Report, 2023). The responsibility to shoulder this expenditure should not be on the workers but the resort itself that directly benefits from their toil. There’s no denying the tireless efforts and dedication of the lift mechanics contribute significantly to the smooth operation of the mountain resort. We, therefore, call on Vail Resorts to recognize the value of their workers and take up the cost of the necessary ski equipment for their lift mechanics.”
The links to the union’s petition and GoFundMe page can be found on their Instagram at crestedbutteliftmaintenance.