Mt. Hood Meadows Raises Base Pay To $15 An Hour And Increases Wages For All Team Members
Mt. Hood Meadows has announced it is raising its base pay to $15 / hour and will increase wages for all Team members by $1.25 an hour. Meadows has paid a dollar an hour above the established Oregon State minimum wage for the Hood River County area for three straight years. This increase puts the entry level wage $2.25 above the state required minimum hourly rate and represents another element of the company’s total Team compensation program to provide more livable wages to our loyal Team members.
Historically ski area positions are filled by those passionate about the mountain, who enjoy outdoor recreation and sharing outdoor experiences with guests. According to Matt Troskey, VP of People and Learning, “We have long provided meaningful work, a chance to learn new skills, and a fun Team atmosphere. With this increase in wages, along with other improvements to our compensation program, we hope to continue to assist our Team to afford to live in the area.”
General Manager Greg Pack says there is an unprecedented demand for outdoor recreation – reflected again in the pace of season pass sales. “The investment we continue to make in our workforce will help us accommodate the growing demand this season and beyond. We want a healthy, energized, passionate Team to operate our resort and provide enriching experiences to our guests every day,” says Pack. “We always want to put our Team first which is why we were recognized for the best employee safety program last year by the National Ski Areas Association. We prioritized the health and wellbeing of our Team members and that drove our operational decisions.” To that point, Meadows is providing a $200 vaccination incentive to all Team members and is reinstituting COVID sick leave to allow Team members to stay home when feeling ill so as not to risk infecting fellow employees and guests. Pack says, “Our added Covid Sick Leave, vaccine incentive and wage increases, represents the largest single investment we will make for this season.” Meadows also provides free shuttle transportation from Sandy and Hood River and provides a 70% discount at restaurants for Team members. For young families Meadows offers daycare for Team member children for $25 per day. This is in addition to the season pass benefit, which historically has been the greatest perk for working at a ski area.
Troskey says the wage increase is accompanied by expanding opportunities for employee housing. “We offer local landlords incentives through lift tickets and season passes to provide affordable housing options to our Team members. We have also hired a housing programs supervisor to manage Team member housing opportunities.”
Meadows will hold its largest job fair of the season in Hood River Saturday, October 30 from 1 - 5 PM at the Best Western Plus Hood River Inn. Managers from hiring departments look forward to meeting those with a desire to work on the mountain and provide enrichment to other adventure seekers.
