Four Touchstone Climbing gyms win unions in Northern California

On Sept. 8th, four more Touchstone Climbing gyms in Northern California won their union elections. Dogpatch Boulders and Mission Cliffs in San Francisco, The Studio in San Jose, and Diablo Rock Gym in Concord are the latest climbing gyms to join the ranks of Touchstone Workers United (TWU), WSRJB Workers United, an affiliate of SEIU.

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According to a Sept. 9 press release, workers are looking forward to meeting management at the table and work together to negotiate a more equitable workplace. “In order for us to continue to support the climbing communities we serve, we need change. We are a workforce composed of real people with real needs. We organized to ensure those needs are met. It’s time for us to have a chance to make and maintain policies that support the growth of our climbing community and ourselves,” the union said.

Mica Carroll-Munoz, front desk staffer at Mission Cliffs in San Francisco, told Words About Work that they were feeling good about the win, but that it was "just the beginning." During their campaign, Touchstone management contested union votes and took issue with the makeup of the bargaining unit, ultimately succeeding in getting maintenance staff and instructors and routesetters working less than 4-hours per week from the total number of eligible workers. "It's frustrating to see them continue to assert that they have our best interests at heart and then go back on their word on a good portion of our employees."

As the newly unionized workers look forward to the coming months of continued organizing, many are thinking about what they'd like to bring to the table during negotiations. "I think a big issue for a lot of our employees is the rising cost of living," Carroll-Munoz said. "We're looking to have a livable that is respectful of our time and labor, because we can't afford to live in the communities where we work."

Another big issue is the creation of better staffing and safety standards across all unionized gyms. "Our staff cares really deeply about the gym and the folks that come to the gum, and we're not able to provide the best experience because we're often very understaffed," Carroll-Munoz said.

"[I hope that] other gyms in the Bay area feel inspired by our win, and see that it is possible that things can change."

Max Dolso-Morey, TWU organizer at Mission Cliffs in San Francisco

Max Dolso-Morey, TWU organizer and club coach at Mission Cliffs, also hopes to prioritize better staffing and safety once they reach the bargaining table, telling Words About Work that it would go a long way toward making the gyms better places to work. Dolso-Morey also expressed a hope that the wins in NorCal will make bargaining easier down south. "I hope that all four of our wins in Northern California encourages Touchstone to really come to the table with Southern California," he said.  He also hopes that these wins will inspires to organize their own gyms and workplaces. "[I hope that] other gyms in the Bay area feel inspired by our win, and see that it is possible that things can change."

For workers at 5 unionized locations in Southern California, negotiations for a first contract continue. In July, workers with the Southern California units rallied outside the Cliffs of Id climbing location in Los Angeles to call attention to Touchstone management's intractability at the bargaining table. Negotiations for a first contract have stalled in recent months, with management agreeing to some non-economic proposals without getting any headway on economic issues, like wage increases and benefits. The bargaining team is hopeful that in future sessions they'll make more headway, but for now it looks like management will table economic issues until non-economic issues are settled.

"Last October they asked us for economic proposals and we provided them, but then we didn't get a response back for several months," said Jess Kim, TWU SoCal organizer. "Now they are saying they want to finish non-economics before we go back to economics. There hasn't been much back and forth on that list." SoCal workers have two bargaining dates penciled in for October, where they hope to get further in their negotiations.

To learn more about Touchstone Workers United, their union campaign, and why they are leading the charge to organize the rock climbing community, see my previous coverage at The Real News Network.