Vail Resorts Strike Fallout: Park City Ski Patrol and the 2026 Arbitration Fight

The 2024-25 Park City ski patrol strike remains one of the most visible labor disputes in Vail Resorts' recent history, and the relationship between Vail and unionized patrol groups is still producing new disputes in 2026.

The 2024 strike

Nearly 200 Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association members went on strike beginning December 27, 2024 during the holiday period. The union cited bargaining and labor-law concerns; Vail disputed the union's characterization. The strike lasted nearly two weeks and ended with a new contract in January 2025.

After the strike, Vail Resorts acknowledged that the guest experience during the disruption was not what it wanted to provide and offered qualifying guests 50% per-day credits tied to days used during the strike period.

A new 2026 arbitration dispute

In May 2026, Park City patrol joined Crested Butte and Keystone patrol unions in filing for arbitration over a paid Recovery Time Off benefit. The unions say Vail extended the benefit to non-union patrols but not to their bargaining units. Vail says the unions' wages and benefits are governed by their collective bargaining agreements and that it offered to reopen negotiations over the additional time off.

Why this still matters

The dispute matters beyond employee relations because staffing and patrol operations directly affect how much terrain can open, how quickly incidents are handled, and how guests perceive mountain operations. The 2024 strike showed that labor conflict can spill directly into the skier experience.

Sources: TownLift reporting on the 2024 strike and May 2026 arbitration filing; Vail Resorts' January 2025 guest-credit announcement; National Labor Relations Board records. Union allegations and Vail's responses are presented separately.