The new face of a 'ski bum'

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

By Sam Petri

The term “ski bum” remains a misnomer. To be a ski bum, you need a job. Most resort workers have two or three low-paying jobs and at the end of a season can add things like “seasonal dishwasher,” “line cook” and “snowplow driver” to their resumes.

The American college dropout or recent grad seeking the freedom of the hills remains the majority of the seasonal workforce, but in the last five to 10 years the face of resort seasonal workers - ski bums - has been changing. Now employers are looking to foreign workers to fulfill their seasonal needs through H-2B and J-1 temporary work visas.

H-2B visas are for non-student adults performing non-agricultural work for up to 364 days. J-1 visas are for students performing non-agricultural work for up to four months.
With a national cap of 33,000 H-2B visa workers per season (66,000 per fiscal year) the process for local employers to obtain H-2B workers is competitive and stressful.

Once the paperwork is finished and fees are paid – more than $500 per worker - employers are still not guaranteed H-2B workers when they need them. J-1 visas, however, are issued on the student’s end, leaving the process in their hands and the employer off the hook. But some employers need workers for longer than four months, leaving them to sort through the H-2B maze.

The need for foreign visa workers stems from a small yet crucial percentage of unskilled entry-level jobs that are no longer being filled by young Americans. As it stands, it is becoming less popular to live in your van, ski all day and bus tables at night. More young Americans are choosing to stay in the city and work at the professional level instead. Jackson’s seasonal businesses must adapt.

Foreign workers are eager to come to America and fill the niche. In the process they improve their English, see a foreign land, and make more than they would in their home country by earning strong American dollars, even if it means bussing tables. In turn, employers get workers that are here to do just that - work.

I first noticed the foreign resort workers in 2001 while working as a line cook at Stowe Mountain Resort in Vermont. Back then, Stowe hired Peruvian College students to work entry-level jobs just like mine. Most lived in employee housing and could be spotted partying at the bar after a powder day, just like everyone else. 

By the end of my three seasons at Stowe one of my bosses had fallen in love with and married a Peruvian college student. After last season at JHMR I know two people who traveled to South America to visit their new girlfriends.

As long as there is a need, local businesses will continue to employ foreign workers. Some may go unnoticed; one may be your future wife. Welcome these people; they are working locals, just like you.
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The new face of a 'ski bum' | Planet JH News Article: Editorial

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