Protest planned at Whitefish Mountain; organizers allege ‘culture of racism’ at resort

Groups of protesters are expected to gather on and around the Whitefish Mountain Ski Resort Sunday morning beginning at 9 a.m. to bring awareness to what organizers of the event allege is a “culture of racism and non-inclusion” among staff and management at the resort.

Organizers of the event asked that Whitefish Mountain Resort employees not go to work on Sunday and instead join in “striking against racism in your workplace.”

It is unclear how many individuals might be participating in the event or for how long the potential strike and/or protest might last. According to an email from organizers, possible locations for protest and/or sit-in activity include Chair 1 and the base of Big Mountain Road.

Whitefish Mountain officials notified guests about the protest/sit-in in its snow report.

The message states law enforcement, including the Whitefish Police Department and Montana Highway Patrol, have been made aware of the event and likely will be present.

“This note is to make you aware of why you will likely see law enforcement presence this morning in and around the resort area. We are not closing the mountain and will still operate in our normal hours. This includes our commitment to ensure that the Nate Chute event carries on,” the message states. It continues, “We want to stress that our desire is for protesters, staff and guests to remain respectful of each other and for everyone to conduct themselves in a peaceful manner.”

According to an email from protest organizers, the group aims to “raise awareness of the presence of racism and sexism being tolerated on the policy-making level” at the resort.

The email alleges there have been repeated incidents of verbal abuse, slurs and “microaggressions” that have negatively impacted past and present employees’ mental health and safety and have contributed to employees no longer wishing to work at the resort. A microaggression is defined as “statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group such as a racial or ethnic minority.”

Specifically, the group is asking management to implement a zero-tolerance hate speech policy, mandatory anti-racist and inclusion training for all Whitefish Mountain Resort employees, hire a diversity, equity and inclusion staff member, increase diversity in staff at all levels and establish “complete transparency about discrimination complaints.”

Whitefish Mountain Resort spokeswoman Maren McKay said resort officials were made aware of the protest on Wednesday. She said management had been made aware of some of the issues raised in the email by organizers and already have taken several steps to address them.

“We want to say thank you to those who came forward with these issues and we're committed to making immediate changes and we already have,” Mckay said in an email.

For example, she said the resort is in the process of amending its personal conduct policy, which addresses harassment.

She said in an effort to use “stronger zero-tolerance language,” the policy will read, “we prohibit disparaging or abusive words or phrases, slurs, negative stereotyping, or threatening, intimidating, or hostile acts that relate to protected categories; and any written or graphic material that insults, stereotypes, or shows aversion or hostility toward an individual or group because of one of the protected categories that are associated with hate or intolerance toward any select group will not be tolerated.”

McKay also said earlier this season the resort hired an external consultant to put senior staff, management and staff through anti-racist and inclusionary training. She said that training has begun, but “it’s going to take some time to get everybody trained.”

Finally, she said instead of hiring a diversity, equity and inclusion staff member, McKay said the resort is interested in establishing a committee that addresses those issues. She said the group would include a variety of mountain employees.

Reporter Kianna Gardner may be reached at 758-4407 or kgardner@dailyinterlake.com