The Jackson Hole Ski Patrol has backed out of plans to form a union.
The patrol has withdrawn its petition to form the union, which it had filed with the National Labor Relations Board, according to the federal agency’s website.
The website posting marks the end of an effort by the patrol to form a collective bargaining group to negotiate with the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort over wages and other employment issues. The labor board posted the notice Wednesday morning and reclassified the case as “closed.”
After the ski patrol withdrew the petition on Jan. 9, the board issued an order Wednesday that apparently resolved the case.
The labor board organized an election, held Jan. 7-8, that resulted in a 42-32 vote against unionization. Another 16 ballots were contested among those cast by the 90 voters who were potentially eligible, the NLRB said.
“The owners stepped up.” Anonymous ski patroller
Those contested ballots in the secret election could have tipped the balance one way or the other. The labor board was set to rule on the admissibility of the contested ballots and adjust the vote count before the ski patrol withdrew its petition.
The NLRB listed the reason the case was closed as “Withdrawal Non-adjusted.”
The contested votes were in doubt because of the positions held by those who cast them. Some voters could have been supervisors, could have held other positions deemed ineligible for voting, or could have been challenged for other reasons.
The close vote suggests that talks between Jackson Hole Mountain Resort officials and ski patrollers bore fruit in convincing some patrollers that matters over a living wage, insurance and other things could best be resolved without collective bargaining as a union. Most of the patrol signed a petition seeking the election — so the vote didn’t closely follow that initial indication of union support.
As the issue developed over the fall, younger patrollers favored unionization compared to veterans, a patroller who spoke on the condition of anonymity said. The patroller who spoke with WyoFile said he did not want to be harassed for public statements.
The patroller was an older employee who had a good off-season income and secure housing and didn’t expect to be paid a “living wage.” That underscored the age divide in the group, he suggested, with younger workers favoring collective bargaining.
But the resort owners met with ski patrollers to explain how they would change things, the patroller said. Federal laws limit what employers can say during such election periods and prohibit them from threatening jobs, promising promotions, campaigning at mandatory staff meetings close to the election and other similar things.
Nevertheless, “the owners stepped up,” the patroller said, giving every employee an opportunity to talk with company representatives. “They apologized for some meetings last spring,” when relationships went south.
An all-team meeting with owners before the vote was “really good,” the patroller said and showed “these guys are making themselves available.”
Also, following withdrawal of a petition, the effort to unionize could be resurrected in six months, the ’troller said. That could give patrollers an opportunity, if the mountain resort management doesn’t satisfy the corps, to revisit unionization.
The Jackson Hole vote stirred interest in part because of a ski patrol strike in Telluride, Colorado, where the walkout shut down most of the mountain for nearly two weeks. Conflicts between the Telluride crew and the resort owner differed from the Jackson Hole situation, the Wyoming patroller said.
“I trust these guys,” the patroller said of the new Jackson Hole Mountain Resort owners. Mountain resort board members Eric Macy, Mike Corbat, their families and a small, select group of co-investors now own and run the Wyoming landmark ski area on the Bridger-Teton National Forest above Teton Village.
Some fret about putting the well-being of an entire community in the hands of 90 ski patrollers who could strike and bring the winter economy to a standstill. A strike would “hurt this town so much,” the patroller said.
Ski patrollers posted Friday on Instagram that they were no longer unionizing.
“After a vote, we have chosen as a team not to unionize at this time,” the post read. “The petition and vote have created space for dialogue and to give new ownership the opportunity to listen and respond.”
A mountain resort official said Monday that the final outcome “is pending due to challenged ballots and procedural matters.” Those are now resolved.
Ski patrollers thanked the community via Instagram “for the overwhelming support,” and said, “we’ll see you on the hill.”