Published July 11, 2026 12:12PM
The labor battles inside America’s biggest climbing gyms are becoming harder for the rest of the industry to ignore. In the past two years, since Climbing’s feature on how gym owners responded to union formation, the number of unionized climbing gyms in the U.S. has doubled from 18 to 36. Five Vertical Endeavors gyms and four VITAL gyms have also signed labor contracts boosting paid time off, compensation, and/or health benefits
Meanwhile, organizers have ramped up activism at the country’s biggest gyms, Movement and Touchstone, which each have 9 unionized locations but zero contracts signed. We’ve witnessed the first routesetter strike, a wave of new Unfair Labor Practice charges, a handful of “practice picket” demonstrations, and one membership freeze campaign. And more than 2,000 gym employees and supporters have signed a petition to mandate living wages
Now, the pressure is intensifying—and some organizers want the rest of the climbing industry to step in. On May 13, the International President of Workers United, Lynne Fox, sent a letter to Marc Norman, the CEO of USA Climbing, asking that the national governing body for U.S. competitive climbing require all partner facilities to uphold collective bargaining rights as a condition of hosting future events. Then, on July 10, Fox sent a similar letter to The North Face, specifically asking the brand to cut ties with Movement’s 32 gyms ahead of the company’s multi-city “Global Climbing Day” event on July 18.
Inside the union letter to USA Climbing
Writing on behalf of more than 1,200 staff members at 30 unionized gym locations, Fox cited the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s Strategic Framework on Human Rights and the Olympic Charter. She wrote that both of these documents “mandate respect for internationally recognized labor rights,” including the right to collective bargaining
She urged USA Climbing to require compliance with a number of conditions in order for gyms to host competitions. Namely, she said these host gyms should be required to provide safe working conditions, offer equitable scheduling and workloads, demonstrate good-faith bargaining with union representatives, and respect workers’ rights to organize and bargain without delay tactics or retaliation, among other protections
“These standards are not merely advisory; they are fundamental to the integrity and the legitimacy of any sport that participates in the Olympic movement,” Fox wrote in her letter. “USA Climbing has both an obligation and a clear interest in ensuring the facilities it partners with meet these requirements.”
Then she called out two giants of the industry. Fox wrote that Movement and Touchstone—the largest and third-largest gym developers in America, respectively—were “not bargaining in a timely and good-faith manner.” She compared them to VITAL and Vertical Endeavors, which she said “have respected labor law.”
In response to Climbing’s request for comment, Movement’s Chief Marketing Officer, Charlotte Bosley, wrote in an email, “Movement continues to participate in collective bargaining through the established legal process, meaningfully engaging at each negotiation table in every unionized location.” Bosley confirmed that the bargaining is ongoing, including at the first-unionized location, Movement Crystal City in Virginia. The most recent bargaining session was on June 10, according to the company.
Touchstone stated that the reason for its bargaining delay is the “open dispute” over whether its Bay Area gym unions will bargain as one unit, like the Los Angeles area gyms, or as multiple units
“That’s the reason for the pause, and it’s the issue the appeal will resolve,” Jeffrey Bowling, Touchstone’s creative and business development director, wrote to Climbing. “We work with Workers United almost on a weekly basis, regularly bargaining changes to pay and working conditions in the interim period before we reach a contract.” He rejected accusations that Touchstone had ever refused a lawful information request, adopted a retaliatory policy, or refused bargaining sessions with the Southern California gym unions.
USA Climbing: “We’ll stay out of it.”
On July 3, Norman confirmedrs United president’s letter. However, he declined to get involved in what he called “external disputes.” In his response to the union, which Climbingobtained, he wrote that USA Climbing maintains a policy of “strict neutrality” with matters outside of its direct purview
Norman continued: “Our climbing gym partners, ranging from independent local gyms to larger regional and national chains, are the bedrock of our sport. Without their investment, dedication, and passion, the competitive climbing ecosystem would not exist. USA Climbing relies on a collaborative network of host gyms to provide the world-class venues necessary for our athletes to train, qualify, and compete. Because we are not a party to the commercial operations, corporate management, or employment relationships within these independent businesses, and in alignment with our principle of neutrality, USA Climbing takes an impartial position regarding active labor disputes or collective bargaining negotiations between private gym management and their workforces. We hope all parties engage in productive dialogue to reach mutually beneficial resolutions.”
He added that USA Climbing’s “primary focus” must remain on ensuring athlete safety, meeting technical specifications, and maintaining geographic diversity
“That said, we fully agree that the health, safety, and fair treatment of everyone who executes an event—including setters, coaches, officials, volunteers, and facility staff—are essential to the integrity of our sport,” he wrote
Norman declined to comment on whether a judge’s ruling on an Unfair Labor Practice violation would potentially alter USA Climbing’s standards for venue selection. For now, the organization will continue partnering with Movement and Touchstone gyms for competitions
One gym employee and organizer’s perspective
Alex Lin calls his coaching job at Movement San Francisco “his dream job.” For the past two years, he has instructed both a youth team and an adult class at the scenic facility, which sits just beside the Golden Gate Bridge. “This is everything I’ve ever wanted to do,” he says, citing his 17 years of climbing experience
Right now, Lin works nearly full-time, but he’s struggled against Movement’s policy of requiring most employees to be part-time workers, capped at 30 hours per week. “As far as I’ve seen, there are only a handful of ‘supervisors’ who get full-time positions,” he says, clarifying that the label of ‘supervisor’ doesn’t necessarily indicate a managerial position. “For everybody else, they pursue that 30-hour cap so aggressively that it’s sometimes at the expense of having a fully staffed gym,” he explains. For example, most employees have second or third jobs to meet their income needs, so they can’t cancel shifts with other employers to fill last-minute gaps in Movement’s schedule. “It’s really hard to ask people to drop things in their life to make minimum wage at a two-hour shift.”
Lin says most of the jobs at Movement San Francisco start at minimum wage, $19.61 per hour, but he makes the higher end of the scale: $25.50 per hour. Still, he’s unable to afford rent anywhere in San Francisco, where monthly rent for an average one-bedroom apartment is $3,764 and the living wage hovers among the highest in the country: $32.44 per hour for a single adult with no children
As a result, Lin moved back home with his parents at age 36 in order to continue coaching at Movement. “I live rent-free in order to subsidize this job,” he said, “I’ve been looking at moving out; it’s just horrifying out there. I have a couple coworkers who have moved into their vans.” Lin also clarified that he receives government-subsidized healthcare
“I want to work more, and I can’t,” he says. “I’m very passionate about this. I just need to make a living.”
Now, Lin sits on the bargaining committee for Movement San Francisco’s union, which won a unanimous election on December 18 and was certified on January 8. The part-time cap is one of the policies he hopes to see change, as well as pay raises. Last summer, he says increases amounted to $0.50, less than 2% of his hourly wage. “That’s a pay cut,” he says. “They go and raise the membership monthly rates by $10 twice over the last two years. It was $100 a month; now it’s $120. And then they turn around and give us a raise of less than inflation. It’s kind of absurd.” (According to the Consumer Price Index, inflation in San Francisco was 2.19% between 2024 and 2025).
So far in bargaining, Lin says that there’s been some progress on non-economic issues, but wages and benefits have not yet been discussed. The fact that Crystal City, Movement’s oldest gym union, has not yet reached a contract puts his peers and him on guard; he expects Movement to “treat us the same” as Crystal City
What to expect in the coming months
Ben Bennett, a lawyer for Workers United, says that the length of bargaining itself is proof that Movement and Touchstone are intentionally slowing the process. “I’ve worked on mini-campaigns where workers unionized and we wrap up bargaining in a couple of months at most,” Bennett told Climbing in a phone interview. Crystal City’s four-year stretch without a contract, he says, “doesn’t happen with employers where the company wants to bargain in good faith.” (Movement has denied allegations of bad-faith bargaining.)
However, legal action has not yet sped up the bargaining process between Movement and Touchstone and their unions. Since 2023, Workers United has lodged 34 Unfair Labor Practice charges against Movement and at least 15 against Touchstone. Representatives for both companies have denied the charges, which are still pending before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
While average NLRB processing times are notoriously long, the wait for climbing gym unions has exceeded the status quo waiting period. According to former NLRB lawyer and legal blogger Matt Bruenig, in the last five years, the median time it takes between filing an Unfair Labor Practice charge and the NLRB issuing a complaint has slowed from 134 days to 441 days. After the complaint is issued, it takes an additional 245 days—at least, in 2025—for an administrative law judge to release a decision. The end result is a nearly two-year wait time for litigation on any alleged labor law violation. The earliest Unfair Labor Practice charge filed against Movement is from August 30, 2023; it’s been 1,045 days and has not yet been resolved. Last year was considered a “lost year” at the NLRB; for 11 months after President Trump fired NLRB Board Chair Gwynne Wilcox in January 2025, the Board lacked a three-judge quorum and could not make decisions. This, combined with the eight-month federal hiring freeze the same year, contributed to understaffing and significant backlogs for processing cases.
As they continue to wait for legal resolution, unionized gym employees are pivoting their energy to the court of public opinion. The next move will be to conduct demonstrations on July 13 at 10 different North Face stores across New York, Berkeley, Pennsylvania, and more. According to a press release provided by Workers United, gym workers will be encouraging North Face customers to email their store managers and corporate leadership to cut ties with Movement
“A partnership with a corporation that violates the rights of its workers contradicts the values of The North Face and VF Corp,” the press release stated, “and it must end.”
The North Face has not yet responded to Climbing’s request for comment
This is a developing story that will be updated as new information or responses become available
