Workers at
Tellers, wealth management employees, and other bankers at Wells Fargo branches in Albuquerque, N.M., and Bethel, Alaska, filed a petition Monday with the National Labor Relations Board stating they plan to move forward with elections to join the Communications Workers of America’s (CWA) Wells Fargo Workers United.
The petition marks the first formal move to get union recognition in a campaign that began in 2021 to unionize the country’s fourth-largest bank, driven by a push for better pay and working conditions. Workers say Wells Fargo’s history of violating consumer protection and other laws come down to its treatment of its own workers.
“We are joining together in a union in order to improve Wells Fargo’s culture and move the bank towards a brighter future where workers and customers are treated equitably and with respect,” Sabrina Perez, a senior premier banker in the Albuquerque branch seeking union elections, said in a statement. “While we are the first Wells Fargo workers to file for union elections, we will not be the last.”
More than 1,000 Wells Fargo workers around the country have signed on to the union campaign as of Monday, according to the Committee for Better Banks, which is aiding their efforts.
Union organizers say more election petitions could come soon.
“In the last couple of weeks, we’ve received enthusiastic responses from hundreds of Wells Fargo workers at branches across the country, and we’re hopeful more of them will be ready to file for union elections before Christmas,” said Nick Weiner, the organizing director at the Committee for Better Banks.
The Washington-Baltimore News Guild, which is affiliated with the CWA, represents employees of Bloomberg Law.
Labor Law Violations
Bank managers have been accused of several violations of US labor law over the course of the campaign.
A regional NLRB director determined in August that Wells Fargo violated federal labor laws at an Oregon call center by restricting workers’ abilities to distribute union flyers and take similar actions.
In May, Wells Fargo agreed to a settlement over claims that its managers illegally stopped workers from distributing pro-union materials in a break room at a Salt Lake City facility.
The San Francisco-based bank has been gearing up for the union drive. In July it started hiring for a newly-created labor relations director position.
Workers at Wells Fargo have long alleged that the bank’s history of consumer protection violations, including the fake account scandal that rocked the bank in 2016, were largely a result of unrealistic sales goals and other pressure put on workers.
A union, the workers say, would allow employees to push back and stop many of the problems at the bank.
Pay Dispute
Workers also say that pay at Wells Fargo is insufficient, resulting in many front-line employees having to rely on public assistance. Cost-cutting efforts that push customers into online banking is also harming consumers, they say.
“Wells Fargo profits billions of dollars every year—the bank shouldn’t have employees on public assistance, and I shouldn’t have to work two jobs to get by,” Walker Sexton, a personal banker in the Alaska branch, said in a statement.
Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf told the House Financial Services Committee and Senate Banking Committee at hearings last year that he believes the bank “should have a direct relationship with our employees.”
Saul Van Beurden, Wells Fargo’s CEO of Consumer, Small & Business Banking, said Monday the bank has made efforts to make life better for Wells Fargo workers by reducing health-care costs and increasing wages for the bank’s lowest-paid employees over the last four years.
“We strongly believe everyone’s individual voice should be heard and that direct connection is the best way to continue to make progress in ensuring that our workplace helps our employees thrive,” Van Beurden said in a statement.
Source: news.bloomberglaw.com
