Mono County COVID-19 News and Updates: April 6
National and state unemployment rates reach historic highs; Alterra Mountain Company full-time employee reductions; CEO Rusty Gregory will…
National and state unemployment rates reach historic highs; Alterra Mountain Company full-time employee reductions; CEO Rusty Gregory will not take a paycheck; Mammoth workers reduced to zero hours will retain health benefits
By Monica Prelle
Alterra Mountain Company announced more staffing cutbacks last week, this time to full-time employees. Year-round staff who cannot work remotely will receive zero hours as of April 4. This announcement comes as no surprise considering the company closed all of its ski resorts in mid-March because of the cornoavirus pandemic and has no current revenue save a few IKON pass sales for next season.
The Upshot estimates national unemployment rates are around 13%, an all-time high. The hospitality industry has been hit particularly hard. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in leisure and hospitality fell by 459,000 jobs in March. This decline offsets gains in hospitality jobs over the previous two years.
Here in Mammoth, positions affected by the latest Alterra cutbacks are “all over the map” and include conference services, housekeepers, and ski patrollers, Mammoth President and COO Mark Brownlie said. Mechanics are still working on maintenance projects and essential administrative positions are working remotely.
“The messaging has not been one of fun,” Brownlie said. “It’s very painful to put people to zero hours.”
Alterra previously laid-off 17,000 seasonal employees when the company closed until further notice on March 14. Even still, 10,000 to 12,000 people are working company-wide, however, CEO Rusty Gregory says that the situation is fluid. He is trying to figure out how long resources will las considering there is no revenue. Gregory will not take a paycheck until full-time employees are back to work.
Mammoth Lakes Tourism also recently reduced salaried staff hours 25 to 50%, according to Director John Urdi. “If we need to do deeper cuts moving forward, we will,” he said, “but that is to be determined.” The marketing team continues to manage the local food bank and is working on the recovery and “welcome back” messaging to roll out when the time is right.
Full-time Alterra employees recently reduced to zero hours will keep benefits, can access accrued paid time-off, and will retain employment status. Brownlie said Mammoth employees have been understanding and receptive to the cutbacks — someone even delivered muffins.
“Mammoth is the place we love to call home and it always will be, it’s just really vague right now,” Brownlie said. “We are trying to embrace that vagueness and those anxious moments and the uncertainties of when this will all be over — and reminding our people, reminding ourselves that there is a horizon.”
Mammoth’s marketing manager, Gabe Taylor, was one of the recent full-time employees to have hours reduced to zero. The reduction was not necessarily welcome but is understandable, he said. But rather than wallow, Taylor is trying to focus on the positives. He is spending more time with his son and finds joy in watching Jeopardy with his wife, Amanda.
“I would not have had that extra time to spend with my son otherwise,” he said. “So, I’m choosing to be thankful and grateful for that.”
Taylor, who is an avid snowboarder, says it was an easy decision to put the backcountry gear away for the season because Dr. Karch might not speak to him again if he got hurt, he joked. But he is still getting outside — kicking rocks with his son because “what else do you do with a 5-year old.”
He is also reimagining what it will be like when the mountain does, eventually, re-open.
“People are going to be so stoked,” Taylor said. “I cannot wait to see what that feeling is like for people coming out of this — riding a chairlift up and skiing down a mountain.”
Despite pandemic projections, Alterra has not announced definite closures for the season. Resorts will re-open as soon as it is safe to do so per public health official guidance, Gregory says. Though other resorts most likely will not re-open until next year, Mammoth historically has long ski seasons. It is in the culture to run chairlifts here, even in July or September.
“Mammoth, in particular, is all about staying open as long as possible,” Gregory said. “If we can safely open up and there is snow on the ground — you bet we will be skiing. I just don’t know when that is.”
The 20/21 Ikon Pass is currently for sale starting at $699 on the company’s website, but details and changes to next season’s pass will be announced soon, Gregory said.
Across the company, Alterra cut more than 50% of previously approved capital expenditures. Mammoth had more than $25 million in growth projects planned that will be postponed including the new 6-pack chairlifts at Broadway Express (Chair 1) and Canyon Express (Chair 16). Renovations and expansion projects at the Mill Café (Chair 2) and McCoy Station (Mid-Chalet) are also on hold.
Now that all non-essential businesses are closed in Mono County, it might be easier to count who is working, rather than the unemployed. Mono County Social Services Director Kathy Peterson said CalFresh applications tripled since last month and CalWORKs applications doubled.
On Saturday, Gov. Gavin Newsom said that 2.1 million Californians had filed for unemployment since March 12.
A few Mono County residents who filed or re-opened unemployment claims the week of March 15, said they had received their first benefit payments via direct deposit. Normally the California Employment Development Department sends an email to claimants when weeks are ready to be certified, but locals report the emails have been delayed by a few days. (In short, don’t wait for an email, log in and check your account.)
The week ending March 28, unemployment claims increased 370% from the week prior. Because of record-high applications, the EDD is redirecting at least 850 staff to processing claims.
The department is also working on the programming needed to implement the extra $600 per week benefit payment paid by the federal government to workers collecting regular unemployment insurance benefits. The EDD hopes that the extra benefit payments will begin the week after states receive the details and guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor. When that will be is still unclear.
Self-employed individuals who usually don’t qualify for benefits can apply though the new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program. The EDD created a step-by-step chart and video tutorials in five languages to help applicants through the process.
Tangential: Gov. Newsom said he does not anticipate NFL games to resume in the fall contrary to what the President recently said. Gov. Newsom’s response to the reporter’s question, which is edited for length, may give Mono County residents some insight to re-opening to non-essential travel and activity:
“We all have seen the headlines over the last couple of days in Asia where they were opening up certain businesses. Now they’re starting to roll back those openings because they’re starting to see some spread. There’s a boomerang. One has to be very cautious here. One has to be careful not to over promise.
“Our decision on that basis, at least here in the state of California, will be determined by the facts, will be determined by the health experts, will be determined by our capacity to meet this moment, bend the curve, and have the appropriate community surveillance and testing to confidently determine whether or not that’s appropriate.”
Also, Gov. Newsom said:
“We cannot allow cabin fever to come in. We cannot allow people to start congregating again and big queues around the beaches and our parks. Let’s hold the line. Let’s keep doing the good work that we’ve done so far in the state of California. Keep those numbers below those worst-case projections as we so far are but recognize we’re not out of the woods.”