Wells Fargo Branch Workers in Delaware File for Union Election, Building on National Organizing Momentum

On Heels of New Mexico Workers’ Historic Union Win, Wells Fargo Workers in Wilmington, Delaware Petition NLRB to Join CWA

WILMINGTON, DE – Wells Fargo workers at the bank’s Fairfax branch in Wilmington, Delaware have filed for a union election, just weeks after Wells Fargo workers in Albuquerque, New Mexico successfully voted to form a union, the first at a major U.S. bank in decades. In a petition to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Delaware-based bankers and tellers declared their intent to join the Communications Workers of America’s Wells Fargo Workers United (WFWU) and take a transformative step toward repairing Wells Fargo’s toxic culture and improving the U.S. financial system. 

The Fairfax branch workers sent a letter to Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf and management, informing them of the union election filing and expressing concerns with understaffing, a lack of compensation and the importance of having a collective voice. Delaware-based Wells Fargo workers’ union election marks the latest milestone for WFWU’s nationwide union drive and financial services workers’ rapidly growing fight for a seat at the table. Even as Wells Fargo executives attempt to push back against the union effort, workers across Wells Fargo divisions and geographies are seeking to reform the banking industry from the bottom-up in order to create a better financial system for workers and customers alike.

“Wells Fargo workers’ historic union vote in Albuquerque created a ripple effect of worker solidarity nationwide, and we are excited to join them, becoming the first Wells Fargo workers in Delaware to petition for a seat at the table at one of largest banks in the country. With a union, we will have the power to negotiate fair working conditions that allow us to better serve our customers and our communities,” said Scott Keehn, Senior Premier Banker at Wells Fargo’s Fairfax, DE-based branch. “We are creating a real sea of change across the entire financial services industry. Even as Wells Fargo spreads misinformation about WFWU’s union efforts, we will not allow this intimidation to stop us from fighting to have our voices heard at the bank, across all sectors.”

Since Wells Fargo bankers and tellers filed for their first union elections in November, they have been actively pushing back against Wells Fargo’s anti-union attacks, which includes the bank sending out anti-union materials to workers across the country and flying union-busting representatives to branches in a feeble attempt to intimidate workers. 

Meanwhile, at Wells Fargo call centers, workers have been raising the alarm on the bank’s illegal anti-union activity by filing Unfair Labor Practice charges (ULPs) with the NLRB. Last month, workers at a call center in Hillsboro, Oregon reached a settlement with Wells Fargo that requires the bank to inform workers of their right to organize via facility-wide emails and in-person posted notices. The settlement comes after the NLRB found the bank illegally restricted worker organizing by tearing down fliers and implying workers would be reprimanded if they continued to post fliers, and amid growing concern within the bank about a “union resurgence.” In October, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) sent a letter to Acting Comptroller Michael Hsu and Federal Reserve Vice Chair Michael Barr outlining these ULP charges and urging action to hold Wells Fargo accountable. 

In December, at the annual Senate Banking Committee hearing, Sen. Brown again raised concerns about union-busting at the bank, asking Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf whether the bank would remain neutral to the union campaign, to which Scharf gave an empty answer, stating that the bank wants to communicate directly with workers. In response, Brown responded, “It was an opportunity to show the American public truly a new day at Wells Fargo, and I'm sorry you failed to show that real change is afoot at your bank.” 

“Like so many of their colleagues nationwide, Wells Fargo workers at the Fairfax branch in Delaware are stressed out and tired of their concerns being ignored and given lip service. By moving forward with a union election, they’re telling Wells Fargo that they’ve had enough, and it’s time they have a seat at the table,” said Committee for Better Banks Organizing Director Nick Weiner. “This election filing marks another critical moment for the WFWU campaign and is proof that Wells Fargo workers’ historic organizing momentum is just getting started. We’re incredibly proud of the Delaware-based Wells Fargo workers for standing up for each other, their families and their customers and continuing to drive change from the bottom-up at one of the country’s most scandal-ridden banks.”

It was Wells Fargo workers with the Committee for Better Banks who helped sound the alarm on the fake account scandal in 2016. Since then, workers throughout the bank – from branch and call center workers, to tech and wealth management associates – have taken action and been organizing to form Wells Fargo Workers United. Momentum is building with over 1,000 workers signing the WFWU support pledge in just the last two weeks.

Wells Fargo workers have fought for years to hold Wells Fargo accountable to promises it has made, including around diversity and inclusion and access to banking services. Organizing workers have collaborated with shareholders to pressure Wells Fargo into conducting a racial equity audit and met with members of Congress and officials at the Federal Reserve and Department of Treasury to provide insight into Wells Fargo operations and policies. 

The worker organizing effort at Wells Fargo is the first of its kind at a major bank in the United States. In their organizing campaign, Wells Fargo workers are showing the banking industry and the entire country what is possible when workers come together and use their collective voice. They join workers at smaller banks and credit unions, including Beneficial State Bank, Lake Michigan Federal Credit Union and Genesee Co-op Federal Credit Union who have organized their workplaces and made in-roads in one of the least organized sectors in the American economy. 

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About Wells Fargo Workers United 

Committee for Better Banks’ Wells Fargo Workers United 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, 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, US Bank, Santander, Bank of The West, and Bank of America.