As many of you may have heard, 4 Touchstone Climbing gyms will be voting to Unionize and join Touchstone Members United which is now part of the newly formed national union, Climbing Workers United. These gyms are Dog Patch Boulders and Mission Cliffs in San Francisco, The Studio in San Jose, and Diablo Rock Gym in Concord.
With this historic moment approaching in the Bay Area climbing community, I would like to propose an ambitious idea: unionize ALL corporate climbing gyms in the Bay Area. Touchstone gyms have already unionized in Southern California and Movement gyms have already unionized in other parts of the country. Both Touchstone and Movement are continuing to undermine their unions, stall negotiations, and prevent the spread of pro union/labor sentiment in their facilities so let’s ban together and help encourage the unionization of all corporate gyms in the Bay Area.
If you are a staff member or client of any Touchstone or Movement gym in Northern California start talking to each other about joining this historic labor movement. Create ways to get involved and participate. Educate yourself and help educate other people in the Bay Area climbing community. Make posters, hand out flyers, organize rallies, and meet ups, send letters to employees and union organizers, do anything you can to get involved, spread awareness, and help push forward the momentum of this labor movement to expand across the whole region.
Can you see it? Every Touchstone and Movement Gym in the Bay Area, staffed with Union Members, making living wages, with power, adjacency, and dignity. It just makes sense. Let’s work together to make it happen. For our community now and for the growth of our community into the future.
10 years from now we will look back on this moment and either say, “I made a difference” or “I watched people make a difference.” Our kids will ask us if we were part of this moment in climbing history and we’ll answer them with pride, or with the regret. Let’s not look back and say, “I missed my opportunity to make a difference, because I didn’t think it was that important.” Or worst yet, “I actually stood against it…”
With Gratitude and In Solidarity,
Morgan McGehee
For news, information, and for ways to support and get involved contact:
IG: @touchstoneworkersunited
IG: @movementforequalfooting
IG: @climbingworkersunited