Noticias

• Ski Patrol and Telski Head Back to the Negotiating Table
• The West End Roundup with The San Miguel Basin Forum
• Local Leaders Call on Jeff Hurd to Support Dolores Conservation

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Ski Patrol and Telski Head Back to the Negotiating Table

The Telluride Ski Patrol Union and Telluride Ski Resort will return to the negotiating table after ski patrol membership voted down what the company described as its “last, best, and final offer” earlier this month.

“Some people continue to ask us to consider the offer that’s on the table. We have already considered it. That is voting on it. We now at a point where we need to move past that ‘last, best, and final offer,’” said Jackie Kearney, secretary of the Telluride Ski Patrol Union.

Kearney, who has worked as a ski patroller at Telluride for the past six years, spoke Tuesday during a Telluride Town Council meeting.

From a broad perspective, the proposed contract included an average 9% to 11% pay increase for this year, followed by cost-of-living increases with a minimum of 5% annually.

Kearney said the membership rejected the contract because it did not adequately address wage suppression and compression, as well as wage increases — particularly for station leads, formerly known as supervisors.

“We are trying to create a wage structure that incentivizes people to stay and make this job a career,” Kearney said. “In order for the ski area to operate safely, and for us to do our job safely, we need seasoned professionals doing this job. This is not a resort with terrain that can sustain high turnover at 5-10 years, which we’re starting to see. We are highly trained professionals and we feel as though we should be compensated according.”

Kearney said the ski patrol union does have flexibility when it comes to reaching an agreement the membership would support.

Under the proposed contract, looking only at wages, ski patrol said the difference between its proposal and the company’s offer is approximately $160,000 over three years.

“I think important context too is these numbers don’t seem very far apart, and maybe for a business operator they’re not that far apart,” Kearney said. “I know they have impacts. I own a small business that I operate in the summer. But for an hourly worker, they make a huge difference.”

As negotiations resume, Kearney said the union remains open to discussion.

“We still have room to move. We have room to talk about the healthcare stipend; we have room to talk about all of this,” she said. “But we want to feel that those big moves aren’t going to be met with an increase of 50 cents to one base wage.”

Following Tuesday’s meeting, Telski and the ski patrol union agreed to hold another contract negotiation session Saturday.

While advocating specifically for ski patrol as the resort’s only unionized workforce, Kearney said she hopes the negotiations lead to broader wage increases for other employees as well.

“This is a really hard place to live and this ski area is the backbone of the economy here and we need to reward people for keeping that place running,” Kearney said. “We hope that if we see these pay increases, that some other people who work at Telski — and some people who have worked there for a really long time — will also see pay increases.”

Laura Thomas, community relations manager for Telluride Ski Resort, said the situation raises issues that extend beyond ski patrol.

“The other consideration that the resort has is not that it would have to — as if it’s some horrible thing — but that, out of fairness, it shall change wages for employees who are not unionized,” Thomas said. “And that businesses owners and employers who are not in the room, and were never asked, will also inevitably have to have those conversations. So that is an important context, because almost none of us had any specific power in the conversation that you’re having, and yet the impact will be visited equally on everyone.”

Telluride Ski Resort has stated its most recent proposal was a fair offer and comparable to those at similar resorts.

Some members of Town Council, however, framed the negotiations as part of a broader regional discussion. Councilmember Meehan Fee addressed ski patrol members, followed by Councilmember Dan Enright.

“I don’t think any of you wanted to be these champions of the working class. I don’t think that this was your desire to be sitting in this room,” Fee said. “I’m glad you’re doing it. I think we all need to start having this conversation more honestly about what it actually costs to live here and how we can all ensure that we’re all raising the tide so all boats can lift. So that we can all afford to live here. So, it’s not just for me, or for Ashley, or for you, but it’s for the future of this community.”

“I ask you to continue to fight. Stay strong,” Enright said. “To anyone else in the community, listening, struggling, worrying how a strike might impact them, I understand, I sympathize. It will impact me, certainly, 100%. But I would rather working people stand and fight, make a stand, rather than die a death by a thousand cuts. Fight for that living wage. Fight for enough to have an opportunity to make Telluride your home.”

At the end of the meeting, Telluride Town Manager Zoe Dohnal urged both sides to continue working toward an agreement.

“We need everyone to come to the table and work through this,” Dohnal said. “A strike to the community will hurt those workers that can’t afford it the most. I really hope everyone works through that, comes to the table, and does not have to have that nuclear option — which I know we’re all aligned on.”

The Telluride Ski Patrol Union and Telluride Ski Resort are scheduled to resume contract negotiations Saturday, Dec. 20.

If an agreement is not reached, the ski patrol union has voted to authorize a strike.

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The West End Roundup With the San Miguel Basin Forum

Today on the West End Roundup with the San Miguel Basin forum KOTO’s news team chats with editor Regan Tuttle. In today’s headlines: Data Centers in the West End, Nucla Cell Tower Causes Concern, and CPW awards large West End Grant.

The San Miguel Basin Forum is a locally owned and operated newspaper out of Nucla Colorado. Visit SanMiguelBasinForum.com for biweekly news, events, and local happenings in the West End.

Story begins at 6:56

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Local Leaders Call on Jeff Hurd to Support Dolores Conservation

The longstanding Dolores River Conservation Area legislation is seeing renewed calls for introduction in the U.S. House of Representatives.

For nearly two decades, elected officials, ranchers and conservationists have debated how best to protect the Dolores River. San Miguel, Montezuma, La Plata, Archuleta and Dolores counties have worked with Sen. Michael Bennet to craft a 68,000-acre National Conservation Area proposal. Since the start of the year, however, the legislation has not found a House sponsor, prompting local elected officials to call on Rep. Jeff Hurd to introduce the bill.

On Feb. 26, Hurd joined the San Miguel County commissioners virtually and said he is interested in the legislation.

“That is a bipartisan piece of legislation that did not make it through the last Congress that is definitely something I’m looking at picking up with my colleagues in the Senate,” Hurd said. “As far as I know all of the counties are in favor and the local governments have bought in.”

In a Durango Herald opinion article this week, Montezuma County Commissioner Gerald Koppenhafer and La Plata County Commissioner Marsha Porter-Norton called on Hurd to act, writing, “the path forward is clear, and it is overdue: You should introduce the Dolores River NCA bill in the House.” The commissioners said the legislation is the result of deep collaboration and more than 100 stakeholder meetings.

The bill has widespread support from county commissioners, local businesses, ranchers, miners and outfitters. It is now also facing organized opposition.

Montrose County Commissioner Sean Pond made one of his first actions in office a resolution opposing the Dolores NCA and other conservation designations on the Dolores landscape. Speaking at a February commissioners meeting, Pond outlined his concerns.

“And whereas the proposed NCA would further contribute to the erosion of control over local public lands, diminish the ability for Montrose County residents to utilize these lands for productive purposes,” Pond said. “And whereas the economic impact of such a designation could be detrimental to local businesses including those in agricultural, mining and energy and outdoor recreation sectors by restricting access.”

San Miguel County commissioners penned a letter of support in March, and in May Bennet reintroduced the NCA legislation in the Senate. Since then, the bill has seen little movement. In Montrose, Pond has remained committed to opposing conservation designations across the Western Slope, including a resolution against the Gunnison Outdoor Resources Protection Act, another longstanding community-driven conservation proposal.

Hurd has not supported the Dolores NCA but recently passed a bill to reauthorize the Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program, which assists with radar modeling for water runoff across the West.

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Telluride Airport Receives $1.3 Million FAA Grant

The Telluride Regional Airport has been awarded a $1.3 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration to support safety and infrastructure upgrades.

The grant, administered by the Department of Transportation, will fund critical improvements at the airport, including a wind cone and taxiway upgrades.

The funding was supported by U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet. A construction timeline for the upgrades has not yet been announced.

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Screening of “Rooted” Documentary Set in Telluride

The Montezuma Land Conservancy is hosting a public screening of “Rooted,” a documentary film highlighting Indigenous-led and collaborative restoration projects in Southwest Colorado.

The film centers on the Traditional Harvest Project, which expands access for Ute Mountain Ute Tribe members to harvest traditional plants on their ancestral homelands.

The screening is free and will take place Friday, Dec. 19, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the Wilkinson Public Library. A discussion panel with the filmmaker and Ute Mountain Ute leaders will follow the film.

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Trump Administration Moves to Dismantle NCAR

The Trump administration is moving to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Located in Boulder, the center is one of the most important climate research institutions in the country and employs more than 1,000 people.

Rocky Mountain Community Radio’s Caroline Llanes reports.

Story begins at 17:35

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Polis Signs Order Addressing Pine Beetle Outbreak

Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order Monday aimed at curbing a mountain pine beetle outbreak in ponderosa pine forests along the Front Range.

Bente Birkeland reports.

Story begins at 19:04

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Holiday Lights Mark Milestone at Longmont Tiny Home Village

Earlier this month, on Dec. 9, a special celebration took place in Longmont as holiday lights were switched on at a tiny home village for veterans experiencing homelessness.

Rocky Mountain Community Radio’s Maeve Conran reports the moment marked more than the start of the holiday season. It signaled a milestone for the community.

Story begins at 20:01