Movement Gyms Faces Widening Union Battle Amid New Federal Labor Charges

New charges against the private equity-backed climbing gym operator come as Workers United foresees a broader wave of organizing across the fitness industry

Movement Gyms is facing a new wave of federal labor allegations as Workers United filed multiple Unfair Labor Practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board this week, accusing the indoor climbing operator of bad-faith bargaining, worker intimidation and unlawful changes to working conditions at its unionized locations.

Founded in 2009 by Movement CEO Anne-Worley and Mike Moelter, Movement was acquired in 2019 by El Cap, the holding company owned by private equity firm Tengram Capital Partners. Movement Gyms operates more than 30 climbing gyms nationwide and also offers yoga and group fitness classes, with personal training in the works for select locations, according to its website.

The charges escalate a multi-year standoff between the Colorado-based climbing operator and the more than 500 workers who have organized at 10 of its gyms over concerns including unpredictable scheduling, high turnover and inadequate pay.

The Case Against Movement

The most sweeping of this week’s filings is a nationwide allegation that Movement has been engaged in surface bargaining (essentially performing the act of contract negotiations without genuine intent to reach a deal) across seven gyms: Wrigleyville and Lincoln Park in Chicago, Callowhill in Philadelphia, Gowanus, Long Island City and Harlem in New York and Crystal City in Virginia.

The additional charges outline location-specific violations. 

At Movement LIC, the company allegedly refused to substantively respond to a union information request about a broken HVAC system that left winter gym temperatures in the 50s. Movement Gowanus and Movement Harlem workers allege management assigned minimally trained front desk staff to teach introductory climbing classes and cut hours for trained instructors without bargaining. At Movement Timonium in Maryland, workers allege that managers interrogated employees about union activity and warned that organizing would result in stricter management.

“We are tired of Movement repeatedly refusing to come to the table in good faith and blaming the union for stalled negotiations,” Movement Harlem front desk worker Molly Rosenshein said. “The charges we filed today reveal the company for what they are: union-busters.”

Movement did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this week’s filings. 

In a statement to Athletech News in February, a company spokesperson said Movement respects employees’ legal right to decide whether they want union representation and is participating in bargaining processes where they exist, but declined to comment on specific NLRB matters due to ongoing legal proceedings.

The company’s gyms in Virginia, New York and Chicago already had pending ULPs alleging federal labor law violations, and Movement is scheduled to appear before an administrative law judge over 2023 charges out of Crystal City, where management allegedly withheld raises, invited workers to quit rather than organize and engaged in coercive practices to stifle organizing efforts.

“Once employees choose a union, federal law requires their employer to maintain their terms and conditions of employment while the collective bargaining process runs its course,” said attorney Robert Cervone, who represents the union in negotiations with Movement Gyms. “When employers change those terms and conditions before the process is concluded, they’re violating the law and disrespecting their employees’ right to have a voice in the workplace.” 

Gyms Face Union Challenges

Workers United added 15 climbing gyms between 2021 and May 2025, then another 12 in the seven months that followed, according to Ben Bennett, deputy director of organizing for Workers United. Roughly 10% of climbing gym workers nationwide are now unionized.

Bennett told ATN in February that the organizing momentum reflects workers pushing back against pay and scheduling practices the industry has long relied on, including gym owners leaning on workers’ love of the sport to justify low wages. 

Some Movement workers in Philadelphia start at $13.50 an hour, and some New York City employees earn less than $20 an hour, he said. Workers eligible for health benefits must clock more than 30 hours a week, a threshold he said is often out of reach.

And all signs point to climbing as just the start. Bennett said that Workers United is seeing other campaigns where fitness workers have started talking but have not gone public.

Some pressure has surfaced more visibly. CorePower Yoga, which announced a 29% average wage increase for instructors that took effect March 2, faced public calls for a strike on Reddit shortly before the pay announcement.

Perhaps ironically, driving the surge is a workforce demographic that the fitness industry is courting as consumers. Younger millennials and Gen Z, prized for their wellness spending, also make up much of the gym and studio labor force, Bennett said. 

“There are polls that suggest that Gen Z is the most supportive of labor unions in the U.S.,” he said. “This is a generation that is less willing than other generations to just let themselves be exploited in the workplace and is willing to assert its rights.”

At Vital Climbing, which operates locations in New York, California and Washington, the company reached a contract with workers at its Manhattan facility in 2024, making it the country’s first unionized climbing gym.

“We’ve always been proud of the way we treat our staff, and we didn’t change our approach during union negotiations,” Luis Falero, Vital’s director of operations, told ATN in February. “Unionization can have the unfortunate tendency to pit staff against management, and we did our best to try and keep everyone on the same team.”

Notably, the organizing efforts in climbing are occurring in an industry that appears to be both growing and somewhat squeezed. Climbing Business Journal’s 2025 Gyms and Trends Report found 53 new gyms opened in North America last year, while 73% of operators reported challenging economic conditions, citing rising costs and shifting customer traffic.