WE have the best job in skiing. Where else do you get paid to enjoy the outdoors, blow s#?t up, and ski every day with a bunch of super cool misfits?
The amount of training that we are expected to have, the professionalism we exhibit and the camaraderie we share is pretty remarkable. This is not experienced in very many jobs and it is all done for very little compensation and without much attention to a future. Recently we have…been trying to express why it is so important for us to maintain a union. The common things we point to are the importance of fair treatment in the workplace, having a voice to enact real change and protection of our jobs. For me, it is the fact thatI love my job and it is a desire to do this as my career.
Because of the protection the union affords us, our patrol has kept together, retained our experience, and has had success.
I started out patrolling at Sunday River Maine and not expecting to work on the hill due to a lack of skiing ability. I was just looking for a job to get through the winter and then get back to sailing on the coast of Maine. I was grateful to be put on the hill, learn to ski, run 10-50’s, mitigate hazards, and drink beer. A job from which I had no expectations suddenly brought me out west to the Canyons (where there is no ocean, just a salty puddle) and a unionized patrol. The professionalism, camaraderie, and the amount of experience the people I worked with and continue to work with today made me realize I could do this as a career.The Canyons has seen many owners, rebrandings, and managers promising to “trust us.”
We are inviting you to share in the camaraderie and the ability to actually stand up to the man, instead of bitching and moving on.