Wells Fargo Workers Secure First Non-Branch Unit Win with Communications Workers of America

Wells Fargo Workers United-CWA
For Immediate Release: December 11, 2024
Media Contact: Sean Nesmith, [email protected], 202-340-4361

Wells Fargo Workers Secure First Non-Branch Unit Win with Communications Workers of America

(NATIONWIDE) – Conduct management investigators at Wells Fargo have voted to form a union with Wells Fargo Workers United-CWA, becoming the first non-branch group of workers to successfully organize with the Communications Workers of America. The department includes Wells Fargo workers responsible for the intake, research, and documentation of external and internal cases (allegations) that pertain to the company. 

“Today is a historic moment for making a real difference at Wells Fargo, one of the largest banks in the country. Myself and my colleagues are standing shoulder-to-shoulder with over 20 branches who have won union elections across the country, and we are thrilled to be the first non-branch group to join in their efforts,” said Roslynn Berkeland, Investigations Associate at Wells Fargo. “We look forward to creating an open dialogue with Wells Fargo to improve working conditions in our department.”

Ahead of a hybrid union election officiated by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), some workers voted in person on October 10 in San Antonio, Texas, and in Saint Louis Park, Minn., while others who worked in several states across the country voted by mail over a three-week period. During this period, over 25 Wells Fargo workers signed onto a letter addressed to CEO Charlie Scharf and delivered to Wells Fargo management, highlighting several concerns with their department and their intent to file for a union: 

We are proud of our work that ensures Wells Fargo lives up to its stated values and meets the expectations set by banking regulators, shareholders and most importantly, customers. 

Our entire team’s dedication makes our department successful by logging every concern, whether from customers or internal stakeholders, an allegation or a non-allegation, reviewing every case to ensure accuracy, quality and compliance with applicable regulations and policies. We are the gatekeepers for Conduct Management and our work is integral to the success of the enterprise.

For the better part of a year, staffing issues, a lack of transparency in enterprise policies, inconsistent training and job security concerns have been rising challenges Intake has worked to overcome. We have persevered, but alarmingly, in the last few months those challenges have become near insurmountable. Intake has faced additional hurdles stemming from miscommunications about location strategy, misleading information about enterprise initiatives and growth, constant policy changes and the revocation of work from home accommodations against the recommendations of employees’ physicians.

Through a union, we can truly establish a direct dialogue that is respectful, transparent and actionable. We welcome you to take this opportunity to demonstrate your commitment to improving Wells Fargo, from within, by respecting our right to form a union without interference. 

Despite this, Wells Fargo leadership immediately responded to the union drive by sending emails to workers discouraging them from pursuing the campaign. Wells Fargo escalated their retaliation by laying off 11 workers on October 1, one week before many of them voted in person. In response, CWA filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) charge with the NLRB in regard to the layoffs, and workers shared the following letter to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra:

We write because we are distraught and outraged that Wells Fargo executives are undermining our ability to effectively manage risk by slashing staff in our department through a mass layoff this past Tuesday, October 1. In fact, eleven of us were laid off or “displaced” this week. Further, since we have a union election starting next week, we view this action by management as retaliation for exercising our labor rights and have filed Unfair Labor Practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board.

The National Labor Relations Board certified the union election vote on December 10 after a long legal battle with Wells Fargo over whether or not the NLRB would tally eight challenged ballots of several workers who were laid off in October. 

The conduct management intake unit’s win comes off the heels of over 23 successful union elections at Wells Fargo branches from across the country, with recent union election wins in Anniston, Ala.; Casper, Wyo.; Freehold, N.J.; and Toms River, N.J., setting an historic precedent for organizing the financial services industry. Also, today, workers in a branch in Artesia, N.M., filed for a union election with the NLRB, making 24 union branches if successful.

On November 5, members of the nationally elected Wells Fargo Workers United-CWA bargaining team convened in Albuquerque, N.M., for the first union contract bargaining sessions with the megabank. The worker organizing effort at Wells Fargo is the first of its kind at a major bank in the United States.

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About Wells Fargo Workers United-CWA

The Committee for Better Banks’ Wells Fargo Workers United-CWA is the only public effort by Wells Fargo employees to organize a union. With a union, workers are seeking to address chronic understaffing, unfair sales pressure, and unreasonable workloads to improve their working conditions and allow them to better support Wells Fargo customers. Since the union’s launch in 2021, Wells Fargo workers across virtually every state Wells Fargo operates in are organizing with WFWU-CWA, collaborating with shareholders, members of Congress, and officials at the Federal Reserve and the Department of Treasury to drive accountability at the country’s fourth largest bank.

About the Committee for Better Banks

The Committee for Better Banks, the only independent voice for frontline bank employees, comprises bank workers, community and consumer advocacy groups, and labor organizations coming together to improve conditions in the banking industry. Committee for Better Banks members include current and former employees of banks and credit unions across the country, including Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, Citibank, and Bank of America.