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Listen "17: Maximum Wage: A Jupiter in Aries Rant About The Exploitative Structure of Climbing Gyms"
Episode Synopsis
A rant about how exploitative climbing gyms are has always been coming it was just a matter of when I had the emotional energy. This is also a discussion about the false distinction between "unskilled" and "skilled" labor as if there is a difference, the myth of meritocracy, and how no matter what job you do everyone deserves a thriving, maximum wage.
Some backstory:
In Fall of 2014 I got a job at Planet Granite, now called Movement.
This was at the height of my climbing obsession.
I was also gradually becoming more outspoken about my values as I began diving deep into unlearning my conditioning under imperialist-white supremacist-capitalist-patriarchy as bell hooks called it.
You know that phase where you start seeing oppressive power dynamics everywhere and you’re like “what the fuck. My life has been one big lie”?
I was in the middle of that.
I had this naive belief that everyone aligned with my values.
But quickly I found out this wasn’t the case.
I wrote an essay that called out and criticized the management that led to me being ostracized and gaslit.
For years I attempted to have conversations with the managers about making the space more accessible to people who weren’t just cis, white men.
Of course, I wasn’t the only one speaking up about this. PDX Climbers of Color has been doing the incredible labor of making Portland’s climbing community safer and more welcoming for people of color, and removing barriers of access for marginalized folks.
Today, I live and climb in so-called St. Louis, the traditional territories of the Osage, Miami, and Oceti Sakowin peoples.
I have had so many conversations with the people who work at Upper Limits, a chain climbing gym here that markets itself as “local, family owned,” to make it sound more wholesome than it really is.
Many climbing gyms will purport holding “community” values, especially after the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement protests took to the streets in unprecedented numbers, but when you look at the LACK of actions being taken things don’t add up.
A climbing gym membership is expensive as fuck.
Employees are not paid living wages.
The owners rake in excessive profit while staff go without healthcare, benefits, or sustainable income.
I’m the girl at the climbing gym ranting about MAXIMUM WAGES and how if there’s ever an organized strike I’ll be there to protest alongside employees if they ever decide to.
If you are in the so-called St. Louis area on Thursday evening, May 19th, 2022, come by Rise Coffee Shop in the Grove where I'll be doing free 15 minute mini readings! I'd love to connect with you in person and there will be live music! It will be so fun! Hope to see you there!
Questions? Email me at [email protected]
Connect with me on Insta @erin.k.monahan
Learn more about my work, who I am, and what I offer at my website at ErinKMonahan.com
Some backstory:
In Fall of 2014 I got a job at Planet Granite, now called Movement.
This was at the height of my climbing obsession.
I was also gradually becoming more outspoken about my values as I began diving deep into unlearning my conditioning under imperialist-white supremacist-capitalist-patriarchy as bell hooks called it.
You know that phase where you start seeing oppressive power dynamics everywhere and you’re like “what the fuck. My life has been one big lie”?
I was in the middle of that.
I had this naive belief that everyone aligned with my values.
But quickly I found out this wasn’t the case.
I wrote an essay that called out and criticized the management that led to me being ostracized and gaslit.
For years I attempted to have conversations with the managers about making the space more accessible to people who weren’t just cis, white men.
Of course, I wasn’t the only one speaking up about this. PDX Climbers of Color has been doing the incredible labor of making Portland’s climbing community safer and more welcoming for people of color, and removing barriers of access for marginalized folks.
Today, I live and climb in so-called St. Louis, the traditional territories of the Osage, Miami, and Oceti Sakowin peoples.
I have had so many conversations with the people who work at Upper Limits, a chain climbing gym here that markets itself as “local, family owned,” to make it sound more wholesome than it really is.
Many climbing gyms will purport holding “community” values, especially after the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement protests took to the streets in unprecedented numbers, but when you look at the LACK of actions being taken things don’t add up.
A climbing gym membership is expensive as fuck.
Employees are not paid living wages.
The owners rake in excessive profit while staff go without healthcare, benefits, or sustainable income.
I’m the girl at the climbing gym ranting about MAXIMUM WAGES and how if there’s ever an organized strike I’ll be there to protest alongside employees if they ever decide to.
If you are in the so-called St. Louis area on Thursday evening, May 19th, 2022, come by Rise Coffee Shop in the Grove where I'll be doing free 15 minute mini readings! I'd love to connect with you in person and there will be live music! It will be so fun! Hope to see you there!
Questions? Email me at [email protected]
Connect with me on Insta @erin.k.monahan
Learn more about my work, who I am, and what I offer at my website at ErinKMonahan.com
In God we trust