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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I grew up in a ski resort town out West. Not PC but similar. I've never worked at a resort but many friends, neighbors, and family have.

I am firmly on the side of labor here. And I'm not always pro labor. This one is a no brainer though.

Skiing as an industry has gotten disgusting over the last 30 years. A bunch of competing factors: all the resorts being bought up first by foreign investors and now by private equity. Climate change resulting in low snow loads and leading to lots of manufactured snow and totally changing the economics of resorts. And then the huge gulf that has emerged in income inequality between the people who work at resorts and people who go to them.

Back when skiing was more accessible to middle class people, especially people who lived near ski towns, you'd have a wide range of socio-economic levels on the slopes. Especially at a place like Park City, which is large and close to a city with a big middle class population. Sure there have always been rich people flying in and doing the most expensive, VIP version of skiing. But there were also lots of people who made it work at lower price points by splitting house rentals, getting used equipment, scouting deals, etc. And it's that group that the people who work at resorts come from -- middle and working class families who found a way to afford skiing when they were young, fell in love with it, and then get jobs at resorts because it's their passion.

When skiing becomes so expensive that middle class people simply cannot do it, and when everything about these resorts is tailored to cater to the wealthiest patrons -- not just the cost of a lift ticket but food and parking and lodging, even access to certain parts of the ski lodge -- resentment is going to build.

Plus cost of living in these towns has become literally impossible. There was a time when someone working ski patrol could fairly easily afford an apartment or to share an apartment in Park City or Aspen or Tahoe or whatever and still have money leftover. It's almost impossible now. The idea that you can afford to live in Park City during ski season on $21 an hour is absurd.

Meanwhile the people who own these resorts are literal billionaires. These places mint money.

If your vacation was ruined by this strike, I am sorry. But perhaps ruining your vacation is the only way for people working at these places to flex what little power they have left. The people who own these results believe that in a few years they'll be able to automate 90% of operations and not have to deal with labor at all. We'll see. In the meantime, this is what it's going to be like. Plan accordingly. These people are fighting for their livelihood. They don't actually owe you anything.[/quote]

I am 100% on the side of labor here, but I also think skiing is still accessible to middle-class people in the SLC area. The cost of an epic pass, especially for local families who buy their season pass in the spring, is still accessible.  The epic pass has not inflated at the pace of day passes; hence, 1+ hour-long lift lines. You see a lot of local Utah families skiing at Brighton as their season passes, and even food costs are still accessible. [/quote]

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