Labor issues put a squeeze on America's $50 billion ski industry

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Labor¹ issues put a squeeze on America's $50 billion ski industry

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Ski industry conglomerate³ Vail Resorts is pushing back against criticism over staff pay and other operational struggles due to labor issues made worse by the omicron surge.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Among other things, the pandemic labor shortage is squeezing America's ski industry, which is worth $50 billion. The industry was already short on workers before the omicron surge, and complaints about low pay nearly led to a strike by ski patrollers in Utah. Now the industry's biggest player is pushing back. Here's NPR's Kirk Siegler.

KIRK SIEGLER, BYLINE⁴: Kyle Gronset steps into his skis. He's an eight-year veteran of the Park City, Utah, Ski Patrol, where, until recently, many patrollers made from about 13 to 18 bucks⁵ an hour. Gronset is responsible for everything from evacuating⁶ people off chairlifts to handling explosives for avalanche⁷ control.

KYLE GRONSET: It's very hard work that we do, especially during storm cycles. It's waking up at 4 o'clock in the morning and going - getting at home at 6 and just passing out.

SIEGLER: Gronset's union recently voted to authorize⁸ a strike against this mountain's owner, Colorado-based Vail Resorts, after working most of last year without a contract. They reached a last-minute deal, but the battle has refocused attention to the low wages paid in expensive resort towns.

GRONSET: The winter time is very tight for us, and trying to afford to live here during the winter is very tough.

BILL ROCK: Yeah, I think both sides were pretty clear that nobody wanted a strike.

SIEGLER: Bill Rock is chief operating officer for Vail's region that includes Park City.

ROCK: I think, yeah, happy that we were able to get a great deal for both of us.

SIEGLER: The near strike is just the latest headache for the industry behemoth, which now owns about 40 resorts in the U.S., Canada and Australia. There's the ongoing⁹ labor shortage in the travel and leisure industry. Winter came late to the West, delaying the opening of popular terrain¹⁰. Then, over Christmas, at some of its resorts, 10% of workers were sidelined due to COVID.

ROCK: It's been a hard season, you know, maybe harder than we expected. And I think many of us expected we would be not in the middle of a pandemic, but we still are.

SIEGLER: They're also getting hammered on social media about selling too many season Epic¹¹ Passes, resulting in a new Epic Lift Line's Instagram feed. It's a daily digest of disgruntled skiers, from Pennsylvania to Lake Tahoe, sitting in traffic or waiting in hour-long lift lines. Skiers booing at one in Vail, Colo., went viral on YouTube.

(SOUNDBITE OF SKIERS BOOING)

SIEGLER: At Stevens Pass in Washington state, a Hold Vail Resorts Accountable petition is circulating, urging skiers to not renew their season passes if the company doesn't make livable wages a priority. Organizer Jeremy Rubingh has gathered more than 40,000 signatures.

JEREMY RUBINGH: In the same week that they're saying that omicron's the problem, they're acquiring three other small ski areas in the Northeast. You know, our question is, like, can't you just figure out how to run the ones you have right first?

SIEGLER: Vail bought Utah's famous Park City Resort in 2014, and you still hear grumbling¹² in town about a Wall Street firm takeover.

JEREMY WILSTEIN: Tried to go skiing today but ran out of time.

SIEGLER: Longtime locals, like Jeremy Wilstein, say people who work here can't afford it anymore, which threatens the very thing that makes Park City a tourist draw.

WILSTEIN: You know, they're paying people that work at fast food restaurants $17 an hour, and I feel the ski patrollers when they're getting paid 14 or $15 an hour. And Vail just made a lot more money selling a lot more ski passes. So...

SIEGLER: During that labor dispute, Vail reported $1.5 billion cash on hand. The company says it's investing $20 million into worker pay and retention¹³, including implementing¹⁴ a company-wide $15 minimum wage last year. Again, COO Bill Rock.

ROCK: In addition, we just recently announced a $2-per-hour seasonal¹⁵ bonus for our workers in recognition for the incredible work they've done so far this season.

SIEGLER: In Park City and elsewhere, everyone is hoping omicron has peaked.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: We're putting them on.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Those that can put their skis on so they can get up at the top...

SIEGLER: Ski Patroller Kyle Gronset missed several days' work after contracting the virus over New Year's, which gave him some time to reflect.

GRONSET: People are leaving during COVID. There's definitely a labor shortage everywhere, and if you want that labor, you have to pay for it.

SIEGLER: He's happy to have a new contract but says the livable wage fight in resort towns will only get bigger.

Kirk Siegler, NPR News, Park City.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 conglomerate   

n.综合商社，多元化集团公司

参考例句：

• The firm has been taken over by an American conglomerate.该公司已被美国一企业集团接管。
• An American conglomerate holds a major share in the company.一家美国的大联合企业持有该公司的大部分股份。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 evacuating   

撤离，疏散( evacuate的现在分词 )； 排空（胃肠），排泄（粪便）； （从危险的地方）撤出，搬出，撤空

参考例句：

• The solution is degassed by alternately freezing, evacuating and thawing. 通过交替的冻结、抽空和溶化来使溶液除气。
• Are we evacuating these potential targets? 能够在这些目标地域内进行疏散吗？

7 avalanche   

n.雪崩，大量涌来

参考例句：

• They were killed by an avalanche in the Swiss Alps.他们在瑞士阿尔卑斯山的一次雪崩中罹难。
• Higher still the snow was ready to avalanche.在更高处积雪随时都会崩塌。

8 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

9 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

10 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

11 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

12 grumbling   

adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的

参考例句：

• She's always grumbling to me about how badly she's treated at work. 她总是向我抱怨她在工作中如何受亏待。
• We didn't hear any grumbling about the food. 我们没听到过对食物的抱怨。

13 retention   

n.保留，保持，保持力，记忆力

参考例句：

• They advocate the retention of our nuclear power plants.他们主张保留我们的核电厂。
• His retention of energy at this hour is really surprising.人们惊叹他在这个时候还能保持如此旺盛的精力。

14 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

15 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。