The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Just in time for more snow!
By Kendra Walker
Following more than a year of negotiations, the Crested Butte Lift Maintenance Union and Crested Butte Mountain Resort have reached contract agreement. A joint statement from the union and CBMR released earlier this week announced that they have come to a new agreement through August 2027.
“Together, the resort and the union are looking forward to the remainder of the winter season,” the joint statement read.
The union’s bargaining committee unanimously endorsed ratification by its unit on Monday night, followed by a Tuesday unit vote that passed the ratification.
According to union president Thomas Pearman, the union was able to negotiate a significant wage increase, ranging from a $3.50 increase to $9.00. “The base wage will stay the same, but they gave us a one-time wage increase that basically put everyone at the wages we feel are acceptable at this time,” he told the Crested Butte News.
Pearman said the union was also able to secure better training, including wilderness first aid training. “In the off seasons we are sometimes some of the only people working on the mountain. This gives us a little more piece of mind.”
Additionally, the contract includes an equipment and tool stipend to help offset personal costs of the job.
“We’re hoping this helps with retention and we can really start building our local knowledge and be able to keep that knowledge,” he said.
Prior to this week’s agreement, the Crested Butte Lift Maintenance Union was working without a contract and had been engaged in negotiations with Vail Resorts since January 2024. Last month, the union passed a strike authorization vote and created a strike fund to help cover lost wages should they go on strike. Since then, however, Pearman shared that their negotiations with Vail started moving in the right direction.
“It was a night and day change between before and after we authorized a strike,” said Pearman. “We didn’t want to inconvenience the community or anyone coming here on vacation, we were just fighting for fair wages and good training. It’s definitely a relief to get things wrapped up.”
Pearman sends his gratitude to the community on behalf of the lift maintenance crew. “We appreciate all the support from the community and couldn’t have made this happen without the support for our petition and picket and strike fund,” he said.
