Wells Fargo & Co. leaders are privately expressing increased concern that a years-long effort to unionize the bank’s employees could soon start notching victories — and have made plans to spend millions addressing the “pain points” that can fuel organizing efforts.
The lender has seen “an increase in organizing activity” by employees working with the Communications Workers of America, according to an internal PowerPoint presentation viewed by Bloomberg News. That comes amid what it called a broader “resurgence” of US union activity.
“Public approval of unions has increased,” the document reads. “And a new generation of employees with activist experience successfully unionized parts of major companies with no prior history of unionization.” The presentation cites union gains at Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc. as well as Starbucks Corp., which it notes went from zero to more than 200 organized stores in less than a year.
Leaders at the San Francisco-based bank have worried over the trends, according to a manager who isn’t allowed to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The company has estimated the extra expense of having unionized workers, and drafted plans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on staffing improvements, the manager said, describing contents of meetings on the subject.
In an emailed statement, the company didn’t directly address the discussions.
“Wells Fargo believes our employees are best served by working directly with the company and its leadership – not a third-party group like a union – to address matters of concern,” the bank said. The company is investing in employees through training and education, is boosting minimum pay and health benefits, and now has a Diverse Segments, Representation, and Inclusion leader who reports directly to its chief executive officer.
The PowerPoint was prepared by Wells Fargo human resources staff and shared with executives, and its messages has been echoed in several meetings, the manager said. The bank had around 193,000 US employees at year-end, none of whom were unionized.
Banks across the country have been targeted by union organizers. CWA, which represents around 400,000 workers in sectors including tech, telecom, and media, has been working for a decade to establish a foothold among workers such as tellers and personal bankers.
“Employers are facing a significant resurgence in union organizing with election petitions increasing by nearly 60% in 2022,” the Wells Fargo presentation reads. It notes that since 2020, CWA unionized workers at firms including Beneficial State Bank and a pair of credit unions, where it now represents around 125 total employees.
The document includes detailed rundowns of union activities, such as leafleting conducted last year in five cities it says had “known” union-aligned employees, and a “marked increase in flyer distribution” early this year. It states that the company has conducted “labor relations training” for all branch managers and higher-ups, and lists employee “pain points” such as pay and staffing, the steps being taken to address them, and spending tied to the effort.
Along with addressing issues like pay and staffing, CWA has argued that unionized workers would have greater clout and security to advocate for customers. Wells Fargo has been dogged by customer-abuse scandals in recent years, and remains under a Federal Reserve sanction that limits its growth.
The PowerPoint, dated February 2023, includes images of CWA leaflets and pro-union tweets. It documents when and where employees and others have been distributing pro-union literature, including at sites in eight states such as Texas, Florida, and California.
Pro-union employees “have been most active” in the company’s branch banking, operations, and home lending divisions, the document says. “Activity has also occurred within other business groups” around the country. It then emphasizes, using bold and red font, that US labor law lets organizers trigger a unionization election by collecting union cards from as little as 30% of the workforce at a particular site.
While US law allows companies to campaign against unionization, employees working with CWA have accused Wells Fargo of illegally interfering. In one complaint filed with the US National Labor Relations Board, Oregon-based call center worker Meghan Merez said she was punished for union advocacy with altered working conditions.
In another, Utah-based financial adviser Kelly Parkinson claimed that management established rules violating workers’ rights. “We respect employees’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act and our policies do not prohibit employees from discussing wages, benefits and terms of employment, or otherwise engaging in collective activity,” Wells Fargo said in its emailed statement.
Unionization is “inevitable,” and there’s no need for management to resist it, Parkinson said in an interview. “They should embrace it wholeheartedly,” he said. “We want to see this place be one of the best places to do business with, one of the best places to work.”
Democratic lawmakers and some investors have urged the company to eschew anti-union tactics. The AFL-CIO’s shareholder arm has introduced a proposal that would commit the company to “non-interference” when workers try to unionize. In its proxy statement, the bank called that proposal “unnecessary and not in the best interests” of employees or shareholders.
