Ski Patrol Union Movement Gains Ground as Telluride Authorizes Labor Strike

The winter season is quickly approaching, but a major labor dispute is overshadowing the excitement in Telluride, Colorado. The Telluride Professional Ski Patrol Association (TPSPA) has voted unanimously to authorize a labor strike against the Telluride Ski Resort, owned by Teleski, as contract negotiations remain stalled.

This is a familiar story echoing across the ski industry. Patrollers at Telluride are fighting for a new labor contract after their previous one expired on August 31, 2025. Now, patrollers have been operating without an agreement, and the situation reached a boiling point. The unanimous strike authorization vote signals the seriousness of their commitment to securing a fair deal.

Fundamentally, this is a battle over fair compensation, particularly in a community where the cost of living continues to rise sharply. In fact, the union is seeking approximately a 30% increase in wages. This is in stark contrast to Teleski's most recent offer of a meager 2.5% increase. The patrollers argue that the current pay structure does not reflect the specialized skills, danger, and institutional knowledge required for the job.

The Patrol Union President, Graham Hoffman, noted that starting wages for a new patroller are about $21 an hour. Furthermore, even patrollers with decades of experience are barely earning $30 an hour, which is nowhere near a living wage in the San Miguel county community. Ultimately, the lack of competitive wages leads to a high turnover, causing the resort to lose highly trained and skilled patrollers. As Hoffman stated, the mountain is "incredibly dangerous" and "complicated" for guest injury retrieval, emphasizing the irreplaceable experience of senior patrollers.

The final scheduled negotiation session between the union and Teleski is set for December 6, which is the delayed opening day for the resort. If no significant progress is made by this date, a work stoppage becomes highly likely.

However, in an unfortunate turn, the patroller union has expressed disappointment over Teleski's public recruitment of temporary workers, often called "scabs," at a higher pay rate than what is currently offered to the highly trained patrol. This move has drawn criticism, as similar actions were heavily scrutinized during the recent Park City Ski Patrol strike.

Patrollers at resorts across the country, including Park City, Breckenridge, and Keystone, have been organizing and bargaining for better wages and working conditions. This growing union movement highlights a fundamental tension in the ski industry: the clash between resort profits and the livelihood of the essential mountain workforce. Given these facts, the outcome of the Telluride negotiations will have significant ripple effects, not only for other unionized ski patrol units but for the entire freeride community that relies on their safety expertise.

The patrollers want to get back to the job they love. Therefore, the ultimate hope is for a fair and equitable contract that allows them to make a sustainable career out of keeping the mountain safe.

Stay tuned to TetonGravity.com for ongoing coverage of this developing situation.