Touchstone Gym Union Negotiations Escalate to First-Ever Routesetter Strike

On Monday morning, a small group of about 15 routesetters emailed a strike notice to Touchstone’s Director of Operations and formed a picket line for two hours in front of Verdigo Boulders in Los Angeles.

Just over a year ago, routesetters at Touchstone’s five Southern California climbing gyms—along with their coworkers such as front desk and coaching staff—voted to form a union. Now, the routesetters claim that their workload has increased with no corresponding increase in pay.

At the picket line, the routesetters carried signs stamped with “Unfair Labor Practice,” which also defined their type of strike. According to the National Labor Relations Act, an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike is a lawful strike in which employees are protesting their employer’s actions—in this case, a unilateral change in working conditions without union consent.

“Last year, I ripped my bicep tendon from overuse,” says Wes Miraglio, a full-time Touchstone routesetter. “I had to have two surgeries and was out for nine months. I’m still not back at 100% climbing-wise.”

The strike is set to continue throughout this week, leading up to Saturday’s two-gym Touchstone Climbing Series competition, which typically requires all hands on deck for routesetters.

According to Jordan Mueck, a union organizer and front desk worker at Touchstone, “It’s a strike over the ULP, but it’s also a strike to make sure our voices are heard. Hopefully this will grab their attention and they’ll come to the table and start proposing.”

Jess Kim, a former Touchstone employee who claims she was fired in retaliation for her union activity, tells Climbing that Touchstone started bargaining with the union in September 2024.

Nine days ago, the union posted on Instagram that Touchstone management’s recent proposal included several unpopular suggestions: a reduction in most staff wages, lower staff discounts, and the requirement that employees pay for their own gym memberships.

These suggestions, which the union’s Instagram caption called “the trashiest,” mimic Movement Crystal City’s controversial 2023 proposals, which also inspired their union to file ULP charges (Movement has “completely” disputed the ULPs, and the charges are still pending).

Touchstone Gym Routesetter Workload Changes

“Before, we typically set three boulder problems in a day,” says Ceri Godinez, who’s been setting at Touchstone for two and a half years. “On steep, long terrain, we set two boulders. When someone called out, we set four.”

These expectations are outlined in an email from February 7, 2024, sent by Sean Nanos, the Head Routesetter for Touchstone Southern California.

“The expectation for bouldering sets is three boulders on difficult terrain, four, sometimes three boulders on easy terrain depending on how many setters are there, and two boulders on difficult and long terrain,” wrote Nanos. “I want this to be the standard workload expectation, across the board.”

But according to Godinez, on August 26, “we were verbally told by supervisors that our workload was officially four and [that] we should pass it on.”

From September 2024 to January 2025, according to data provided by Godinez, routesetters set an average of four boulders per day on all three types of terrain.

Skipping the Warm Up

The typical eight-hour schedule for routesetters at Touchstone, according to Godinez, involves about one hour of stripping the wall, four hours to set the problems, a half hour for lunch, and three hours of forerunning.

With an extra boulder for each person to set, she says, “It’s affected every part of our day. We’re pulling more climbs off the walls, we’re washing more holds, we’re putting more climbs on the walls, and then we’re climbing more climbs.”

As a result, Godinez argues, the time crunch means “the time for warming up is shorter. Ideally we’d take a half hour or something to get our bodies ready.”

Bex Vanegas, who’s been setting for six years, explains the impact on routesetter health: “With increased workload, that really affects the longevity of our job. We’re more prone to overuse injuries, which is probably the most common thing we have.”

“I’ve had my first major injury since our workload increased,” says Godinez. “Two other people are dealing with knee injuries. One person has been out a week from work. I do feel like there’s been a sort of upward trend in these injuries.”

According to Kim, Touchstone is refusing to bargain regarding the workload.

Vanegas emphasizes that the routesetters on strike are not necessarily aiming to set fewer boulders per day, but simply to negotiate their compensation levels.

“We’re open to negotiating, and if they want to increase the workload, then compensate us for it,” she says. “If they want us to set four boulders a day, we’ll gladly do it, if it means we have more monetary access to physical therapy—if we have the ability and the resources to take care of our bodies more.”

Touchstone has yet to respond to Climbing about the current or historical routesetter workload. This is a developing story and will be updated as additional information becomes available.

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