All together now

It’s official: Purgatory Ski Patrol has voted to form a union.

Back in The Durango Telegraph’s March 31 issue, we reported that ski patrollers at Purgatory Resort had decided to vote whether to unionize in order to more effectively fight for better wages and benefits.

Well the results are in, and it wasn’t even close, with a 35-3 vote in favor of unionizing.

“It was really encouraging,” Bob Rydiger, who has worked for Purgatory Ski Patrol for 40 years, said Wednesday. “We were told by one of the representatives (that helped count votes) it was one of the largest margins they’ve seen for a ski patrol voting to unionize.”

Momentum among ski patrollers at Purgatory to form a union started to build over the last few years, especially as low wages and high costs of living in the area created significant turnover among the team’s ranks.

The starting wage for a ski patroller is $13 an hour – this, for a job that requires multiple medical certifications and emergency training requirements (the state’s minimum wage is $12.56 an hour).

Also, many ski patrollers have voiced concerns the team was chronically underfunded on equipment and gear – the radio system, for instance, was hit or miss this past year, complicating emergency responses.

Add on the fact it’s become more expensive to survive in Durango, and it’s easy to see why so many patrollers left for other jobs at Mercy Hospital and Durango Fire Protection District. (Other medical jobs start out at $18 an hour, according to federal data).

As a result, in the past two years, Purgatory Ski Patrol, which has about 50 members, experienced a nearly 50% turnover.

Now that the vote to unionize passed, Rydiger said the team is in the process of setting up a negotiation committee to meet with Mountain Capital Partners, the company that owns Purgatory. Ski patrollers hope, Rydiger said, they can work out a contract with the resort before the start of next season.

“We’re hoping for the best,” he said.

Purgatory Resort officials said Wednesday they had no additional comments at this time. Dave Rathbun, general manager of Purgatory, said in a previous interview the resort was surprised by the effort to unionize. “We are understandably disappointed by this turn of events, but again, we recognize our employees’ right to bargain collectively and will respect the results of the election,” he said.

Purgatory Ski Patrol is not alone in its effort to form a union, as other teams across the West have started to band together to fight for better wages. Increasingly, the old stereotype of patrollers as ski bums happy to work for low wages just to be able to ski all day doesn’t cut it anymore, especially as living in mountain towns becomes incredibly expensive.

“We’re more than just coworkers, we’re all just really good friends,” Rydiger said. “Young or old, we all have each other’s back.”

Rydiger said those in support of Purgatory Ski Patrol can pick up stickers at ski shops around town.

Top Stories

Chugging away
02/13/2025
Chugging away
By Missy Votel

New owners roll up sleeves to spiff up iconic liquor store
 

Read More
The nuclear option
02/13/2025
The nuclear option
By Allen Best / Big Pivots

Bill that would add nuclear toward state’s clean energy goals picks up steam
 

Read More
Dirty(ish) dancing
02/06/2025
Dirty(ish) dancing
By Missy Votel

Durango Pole Dance offers safe space for fitness, fun and being yourself

Read More
Thinking the unthinkable
01/30/2025
Thinking the unthinkable
By Allen Best / Big Pivots

Drier winters may portend water cutbacks in Colorado

Read More
Read All in Top Stories

The Pole

RIP Outside?
02/13/2025

The magazine that brought us such luminaries as Kevin Fedarko and John Krakauer is no longer – at least as we know it. According to a Feb. 11 report by Adventure Journal editor Steve Casimoro, the parent company of Outside magazine laid off 20 staff members last week, leaving doubt about the ongoing viability of the publication.

Getting soaked
02/06/2025

Floating the Grand Canyon could get a lot more expensive for private boaters. The National Park Service is seeking public input on a proposal to increase the per-person cost for rafting Lees Ferry to Diamond Creek from $90 to $310. The cost of floating Diamond Creek to Pearce Ferry, now free, would increase to $55/person. The $25 lottery permit fee would remain unchanged.

Lockdown
01/30/2025

For many Durangoans, their bicycles may be their most prized – and only – set of wheels. Which is why bike thieves are among the lowest of the low. But, with bike thefts on the rise, Durango Police are helping residents protect their bikes through a free registration system called “Project 529.”

The end is Sneer
01/23/2025

If you’re planning on drinking your winter blues away at Snowdown this year, you’ve likely already been to Magpies Newsstand to grab your board games gear to celebrate. As Snowdown merch central, they have t-shirts, hats, buttons, posters and info pamphlets. Get your butt down there if you haven’t already, as supplies are dwindling! However, if you go to Magpie’s in search of the venerable Snowdown Sneer, the satirical newspaper that mysteriously shows up around town (almost) every Snowdown, don't get your hopes up just yet.

Read All Stories in the Pole