“Sick” workers at Belleayre cause skiing to be delayed during busy holiday weekend

By Pauline Liu
The administration at Belleayre Mountain Ski Center is assuring would-be skiers and snowboarders that it will be completely operational for the rest of the Presidents’ Day weekend. The state-run ski center is making that guarantee, after several lift mechanics called in sick on Saturday morning in what may have been job action or more specifically, a “sick out.”

Without certified lift mechanics to start up the lifts, skiing and shredding on the upper mountain were delayed until help arrived. Some upper mountain lifts remained closed for hours, but three lower mountain lifts for beginner and intermediate skiers and boarders were running from the moment Belleayre opened at 9am.

Shandaken Town Supervisor Rob Stanley, who is also a ski instructor at Belleayre, was visibly upset by the delay on what is traditionally one of the busiest ski weekends of the season. “The lift maintenance workers have to start up the lift and must do a ‘pre-flight’ inspection,” said Supervisor Stanley. “As supervisor, I feel this is a tremendous loss for the region, because what the lift maintenance operators did was selfish. We recognize their problems and as members of the Belleayre Regional Advisory Group (BRAG), we’ve been trying to address the issues,” he added.

Another member of BRAG, Joe Kelly, was at Belleayre during the delay. “It’s a sad day for this region,” said Kelly, who is also the chairman of the Coalition to Save Belleayre. He and other members of BRAG have been calling on state officials to continue to provide living wages for Belleayre workers, after operation of the mountain is transferred from the State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to the New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) in the coming months. According to the BRAG members, new legislation must be passed in order for the transfer to take place.

ORDA, which was established to manage facilities during the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, currently operates Whiteface Mountain near Lake Placid and Gore Mountain in North Creek. Many Belleayre workers have expressed concern that they could lose their benefits and be reduced to seasonal workers, once ORDA takes over. So far, no official takeover date has been set. Kelly explained, that’s part of the problem. “Communication is key, especially in this time of transition, but no one knows anything and I think it’s DEC’s fault,” said Kelly. “Communication could go a long way in helping this situation, but no one from DEC has come to talk with the employees or the community,” he added.

Belleayre Mountain Superintendent Tony Lanza was in a meeting Saturday morning and through his staff, he sent word that he would have “no comment” about what caused the delay. The News’ calls and emails to numerous DEC staffers went unanswered this holiday weekend. There was no response on how DEC will address the possible “sick out.” As state workers, Belleayre workers are prohibited from striking under the Taylor Law.

In order to restore skiing and snowboarding to the upper mountain, Lanza reached out to privately-owned Windham Mountain for help. “Our General Manager Chip Seamans got a phone call from the superintendent of Belleayre, that all of the lift mechanics called-in sick and in order for them to open, they would need to borrow one of ours,” said Beth Barry of Windham media relations. “We usually have more than one lift mechanic on staff, so we sent one over and he came back this afternoon,” she added. If Belleayre should need help again, Barry said that Windham would be happy to assist.

According to Barry, there is “a brotherhood among ski areas,” but she explained that Windham was also motivated to help by something more. “When Hurricane Irene happened, we got a call from Belleayre offering their help,”she said. Even though Windham didn’t accept the offer, the administration was grateful for Belleayre’s generous gesture. “We did have some damage, but it was all repaired by Columbus Day weekend,” said Berry.

Receptionists at Belleayre explained to callers that the opening of the upper mountain was delayed by an “internal problem.” One skier with a weekend home in Roxbury nodded knowingly. “When they say they have an ‘internal problem’ that means they’re having problems with their employees,” she said, sounding a bit amused. Others, who were left waiting, were not so calm. “It was a waste of gas and a waste of time to come here on a holiday weekend!” said John Carfagno of Red Hook. He pointed out that ski conditions were the best that they’ve been all season, but there was no way for him to try them out. After an hour and a half wait, one lift opened and throngs rushed to put it to use. By the end of the day, Carfagno was smiling. “By 1pm, almost everything was open and they managed to salvage the afternoon, so it wasn’t bad,” he said.

With lift tickets discounted to $25 for the holiday weekend, parking areas in the upper and lower lodges were full. Attendance numbers were not available. With the discount, some skiers were able to take the situation in stride. “The price was reasonable and a lot of people left because of the delay, so the ski conditions turned out to be good,” said “Marty” of Greenwood Lake in Orange County. Since some lifts remained closed, Belleayre workers helped direct skiers as they came down the slopes. “They greeted you, when you came down the mountain and they told you which way to go, so you won’t have to walk,” said Stacey Gallagher of Morristown, New Jersey. One skier, a school teacher named “Paul” from Red Hook, even expressed sympathy for the lift mechanics. “In terms of the statement they were trying to make, because of labor issues, I could feel their frustration,” he said.