From 300 to 2,000: Movement Members Step Up Pressure
In late June, several hundred Movement members said they were willing to freeze their memberships in support of unionized employees at the climbing gym chain. Three months later, Workers United says that number has surged.
On June 20, outside a Movement gym in San Francisco, about 20 employees and supporters were handing climbers an unusual form as they arrived for their sessions. They weren’t asking anyone to turn around and go home. Not yet. They were asking for a commitment: if workers called for it, would members agree to temporarily freeze their memberships?
By the next day, just over 300 people had said yes. That was the number when Vertige Media first reported on the campaign, as the national effort was just getting off the ground. Three months later, it has grown considerably. Workers United, the union representing Movement employees, now says it has collected more than 2,000 membership-freeze pledges.
Pressure in reserve
For now, those 2,000 people are still climbing and still paying their dues. The freeze pledge is less a traditional boycott than a collective warning shot. Signers agree to suspend their memberships only if workers give the signal, then reactivate them once the union believes Movement is bargaining in good faith. The idea is to build leverage before actually using it.
Other cases allege that the company questioned or threatened employees involved in union organizing, unilaterally changed certain working conditions, or refused to provide information to the union
“I signed the pledge to freeze my membership because I’m tired of my membership dues being spent on union-busting,” Movement Harlem member Tippo Wang said in a Workers United statement. The criticism is aimed in part at the resources the company has committed to the labor dispute. Movement is represented by Jackson Lewis, a law firm specializing in management-side labor and employment law that has been involved in several cases tied to union drives at the company. In 2024, Movement also hired LRI Consulting Services, a firm that advises employers facing unionization efforts. Filings with the U.S. Department of Labor show that the company paid at least $69,520 that year to two consultants working on Movement’s behalf.
For the union, the strategy is straightforward: turn part of Movement’s customer base into economic leverage in a labor fight that has now dragged on for several years. Movement operates more than 30 gyms across the United States. Since 2021, more than 500 employees at 10 locations have unionized with Workers United, according to the organization. Workers behind those campaigns have cited low pay, high turnover and understaffing. At several gyms, they have also raised concerns about safety and working conditions, including ventilation and maintenance issues, inadequate training and deteriorating equipment.
But none of those locations has signed a first collective bargaining agreement. That was already the central issue when we spoke with Aaron Vanek, an organizer with Climbing Workers United, in February. Winning a union election is only the first step. Without a contract, concrete changes to pay, staffing, time off and working conditions still have to be negotiated. And that is exactly where both sides now accuse the other of holding things up.
The legal fight
Workers United has accused Movement of surface bargaining—going through the motions of negotiating without a genuine intention of reaching an agreement. Other cases allege that the company questioned or threatened employees involved in union organizing, unilaterally changed certain working conditions, or refused to provide information to the union. At this stage, those complaints remain allegations under review by the National Labor Relations Board, not final findings that Movement violated labor law.
Now, Movement’s own customers could become part of the equation
Movement disputes that account. In July, the company told U.S. outlet Athletech News that it was participating “meaningfully” in the various negotiations and respected employees’ right to choose union representation. Since then, the company has also taken the dispute to the NLRB itself. On August 7, Movement filed two new cases against different regional branches of Workers United. In one, the company accuses the union of bargaining in bad faith. In the other, it challenges certain practices involving picket lines and access to its facilities. Both cases remain open.
The dispute is no longer confined to the bargaining table. In recent months, workers have tried to pull other players in the climbing industry into the fight. Workers United has asked USA Climbing to stop holding competitions at gyms involved in unresolved labor disputes. In July, demonstrations also moved outside several The North Face stores; the brand is a commercial partner of Movement. Now, Movement’s own customers could become part of the equation.
Two thousand pledges do not, of course, mean 2,000 memberships will be frozen tomorrow morning. It is also unclear what share of Movement’s overall membership those signers represent. But the growth is notable. In June, the campaign was still an experiment. A few hundred climbers were willing to put their memberships behind a future show of force. Three months later, Workers United says that number has grown more than sixfold.
So far, the union still hasn’t pushed the button. But there are now a lot more fingers on it.
