Jackson Hole Mountain Resort’s ski patrol has ended its unionization drive after a Jan. 8 election resulted in 42–32 against forming a union among the 74 counted ballots. While 90 patrollers voted, 16 ballots were challenged and not counted; organizers reviewed the rejected votes, concluded they couldn’t change the outcome, and dropped plans to appeal. In an Instagram post, patrollers said the campaign created space for dialogue and gave the resort’s new ownership a chance to listen and respond.
Following the initial push toward unionization—sparked by a petition filed in late November—patrollers reported a flurry of outreach: more than 50 one-on-one sessions plus larger group meetings with the new ownership team. For some employees, those meetings created enough trust to justify delaying a union and seeing whether management would follow through.
The vote unfolded amid heightened ski-resort labor activity across the Mountain West, where union efforts and strikes have sometimes led to wage and workplace gains even when votes fail. Patrollers can vote on unionization again in at least six months, and some say they may revisit the idea if management doesn’t deliver on improvements.
Source: JH News and Guide
Photo: Enricokmasa (public domain) via Wikimedia Commons
