Gowanus Boulderers Picket For Fair Pay
Workers at Movement climbing gym in Gowanus picketed December 15 for a fair union contract.
Weeks after Mamdani marched with striking Starbucks workers in Gowanus, employees at a local climbing gym are renewing their own push for a union contract.
By COLE SINANIAN
Workers at a local rock climbing gym picketed on Monday, December 15 to demand a fair union contract and call out what they describe as rampant wage inequity, unfair scheduling practices, and corporate management’s refusal to come to the negotiating table.
At Movement Gym on Butler Street in Gowanus, dozens of employees unionized under Workers United — the same union that represents Starbucks workers — stood outside for an hour in the bitter cold, holding signs and chanting into megaphones. Passing customers of the gym were sympathetic to the workers, picketers said, with some even holding signs and joining in the chants with their children.
The picket came just a few weeks after workers at the Long Island City Movement Gym rallied to demand a fair contract, and amidst a wave of labor actions that have swept the city and country in recent weeks, including the so-called “Red Cup Rebellion” at Starbucks, and walkouts and strikes at Amazon warehouses throughout the US. According to a Workers United press statement, the union has already organized 900 workers at 24 climbing gyms around the country.
Workers at the Gowanus gym first announced their unionization in 2023 but have since struggled to secure a union contract. According to 33-year-old organizer and employee Charlie He, Movement’s upper management has been stonewalling workers, refusing to engage in conversation when union reps are present and rejecting all attempts at negotiation.
“We want the company to know that we are serious about wanting a contract, and we want it as soon as possible,” explained He, who’s worked at the climbing gym since 2022. She said nearly all employees at Movement are part-time, working a maximum of 30 hours a week. This means that He and her colleagues must work multiple jobs to make ends meet while also navigating a scheduling system at Movement that defies logic. Some weeks, she’s scheduled 29 hours, other weeks 12.
The lack of scheduling consistency makes planning her life difficult, He says. Additionally, wages vary and have little to do with seniority. He makes about $22/hour, while some colleagues who make more than her have less experience at the company. Meanwhile, the gym’s facilities could use an upgrade— workers described break rooms with mold on the walls and unreliable heat and air conditioning.
Movement Gym, an Englewood, Colorado-based company, first acquired the Gowanus gym in 2023, which was then called The Cliffs. Movement is the largest climbing gym operator in North America and is owned by the private equity firm Tengram Capital Partners. Other Movement locations in New York include the LIC gym, and one on 125th street in Harlem.
Rock climbing gyms surged in popularity around the country after the pandemic, bringing major growth to the industry and with it increased tensions between workers and management.
“All these companies are growing and the people who work for these gyms are realizing how much they matter to this industry,” He said. “These businesses are profiting off these workers, they’re profiting off how much we just want to be here.
