Breckenridge Ski Patrol Union Ratifies New Three-Year Contract

Breckenridge Ski Patrol Union members and Breckenridge Ski Resort have officially ratified a new three-year contract, bringing a weeks-long negotiation process to a close. The agreement was finalized on Friday, Nov. 21, after a bargaining session on Nov. 13 that stretched several hours. Had the two parties been unable to reach an agreement, the Union said it was prepared to picket in front of the BreckConnect Gondola on Sunday, Nov. 16.

Those demonstrations never happened. With a tentative agreement reached during that Nov. 13 meeting, both sides moved to formalize the deal. A week later, the contract was signed, Summit Daily reported.

Here are the big wins for ski patrol:

Patrollers say the biggest victory in the contract is increased recovery time, designed to give full-time, seasonal patrollers structured days off after dealing with medical incidents.

Second to fifth year patrollers will get five days of PTO, while patrollers who've worked five years or more get seven days each season.

A Vail Resorts spokesperson noted that patrollers already receive paid sick time, wellness benefits, and mental-health resources, but that the added recovery time is meant to help them “proactively plan and schedule time off in advance.”

The contract also adjusts medical-skills pay, bringing it closer to the work required for advanced certifications. Breckenridge patrollers will now receive:

Financial incentives for higher level medical certifications can only be good for skiers and riders. A better trained ski patrol means safer slopes for everyone.

Another major piece of the agreement focuses on senior patrollers and long-term career viability. Senior patrollers will receive a one-time market adjustment:

The contract also corrects what the union described as a wage-suppression issue. Previously, a patroller received only the higher of either a promotion increase or their annual merit bump, but not both. Under the new agreement, patrollers will now receive both.

Incoming patrollers also have a clearer path to higher wages, with the ability to earn $30/hour by the end of their third season or the start of their fourth.

While union members say this contract marks significant progress, they believe future negotiations will need to address wage stagnation during contract periods. Merit increases apply only to base wages, which make up roughly 75% of a senior patroller’s total wage.

“This means that 25% of our wages will not change over the next three years,” Semin said. “That has a major impact on our true wage power as inflation will continue to grow.”

Still, both sides view the contract as a major step forward. Patrollers say it moves the profession toward long-term sustainability and acknowledges the complexity and intensity of their work.

Here's to safer and more equitable ski resorts everywhere.