Wells Fargo Workers File Three New Unfair Labor Practice Charges Against Bank as Union Momentum Builds

New ULP charges in Des Moines, IA and Chandler, AZ come after NLRB finds Wells Fargo illegally restricted union activity in Beaverton, OR and Salt Lake City, UT 

As Wells Fargo leadership fears a ‘union resurgence,’ workers fight for accountability, demand the bank respect workers’ rights 

NATIONWIDE – The Communications Workers of America (CWA) has filed three new Unfair Labor Practice charges (ULPs) with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against Wells Fargo in response to workers’ allegations that managers interfered with their right to join together in a union and retaliated against those actively organizing. The ULPs, filed on behalf of two Wells Fargo workers in Chandler, AZ and one Wells Fargo worker in Des Moines, IA, outline a pattern of behavior in which managers seek to stifle worker organizing amid leadership’s growing concerns of a “union resurgence.” 

The new charges come just weeks after the NLRB found Wells Fargo illegally restricted union activity at a call center in Hillsboro, OR, where managers routinely tore down union flyers and implied workers would be reprimanded if they continued to post flyers. Last month, Wells Fargo laid off 316 workers at the Hillsboro call center, including several workers who were active in union organizing. 

“While Wells Fargo is busy trying to intimidate us, we are only growing stronger and gaining more support from our coworkers nationwide who are sick of being bullied and ignored. We are more excited than ever about our union drive and efforts to build a better Wells Fargo for ourselves and the customers we serve every day,” said Trevor Brown, an Investigator in Chandler, AZ who filed a ULP.  “In filing these unfair labor practice charges, our message to Wells Fargo is clear: instead of working against us, work with us to lead the bank into a brighter future.”

For months, Wells Fargo workers with Committee for Better Banks’ Wells Fargo Workers United (WFWU) have engaged in a nationwide flyering campaign to spread the word about worker organizing across Wells Fargo offices, branches and call centers. In response, several managers have attempted to remove the flyers in violation of workers’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act to “form, join, or assist a union.” One worker in Chandler, AZ claims a manager continued to remove union flyers even after he noted it was against the law. 

In Des Moines, IA, a manager reprimanded a worker for discussing pay and other Wells Fargo policies on an internal message forum with his coworkers. The manager labeled the behavior “unprofessional” and mentioned in the worker’s mid-year review that it may impact his year end assessment or eligibility for promotion. Federal labor law protects workers’ right to discuss wages both face-to-face and through written messages.

“With a voice on the job, workers will be able to advocate for the financial interests of our customers and increase transparency at every level of the bank,” said McCellan Siruta, a Claims Operations Associate in Des Moines. “We are organizing a union in order to change the bank’s toxic culture from the bottom up. Rather than pursue illegal scare tactics, Wells Fargo must respect our right to organize.”

“When Wells Fargo management tries to silence us, it hurts the bank, hinders progress and breaks the law. That’s why hundreds of Wells Fargo workers from different departments and all over the country are forming a union, so that we can have a real voice on the job. We know a union is the best way to ensure we can advocate for ourselves and our customers without fear of retaliation,” said Tony Taylor, a Senior Software Engineer in Chandler AZ, who has been repeatedly targeted and reprimanded by his manager after sharing his support of the union on LinkedIn. “Our aim is to end Wells Fargo’s toxic culture and make it a better place to work and a better place to bank.” 

Wells Fargo’s Pattern of Anti-Worker Behavior

Earlier this year, Wells Fargo reached a ULP settlement with Utah-based financial adviser Kelly Parkinson after Parkinson alleged a manager forbade him from soliciting coworkers about the union while on company property and threatened to strip him of his right to work from home. The settlement required Wells Fargo to post notice throughout the Salt Lake City facility of workers’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act. 

These compounding charges against Wells Fargo speak to the bank’s retaliatory culture and anti-worker behavior and further underscore reporting from Bloomberg that describes the bank’s “worries” over a potential union “resurgence” among its workers. According to Bloomberg, Wells Fargo has reportedly made plans to spend millions of dollars addressing “pain points” like branch understaffing that are fueling the union push. As workers fight to hold Wells Fargo accountable, the bank continues to face billions of dollars in fines for abusing customers and defrauding shareholders. 

“At last year’s Wall Street hearing, Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf refused to commit to remaining neutral to workers’ union organizing efforts. One year later, Wells Fargo workers have won a settlement and merit determination and have several outstanding ULPs in response to the bank’s labor violations,” said Committee for Better Banks Organizing Director Nick Weiner. “Wells Fargo workers nationwide, across a variety of departments at the bank, are organizing on an unprecedented scale to hold Wells Fargo accountable, and they’re winning this fight.”

WFWU is the only public effort by Wells Fargo employees to organize a union. Since the union’s public launch in 2022, over 900 workers across 29 states have organized, 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. Meanwhile, the union drive continues to gain growing support. At the bank’s annual shareholder meeting in April, approximately one-third of shareholders voted in favor of a Freedom of Association proposal which would enshrine workers’ rights to collectively bargain and organize together in a union. 

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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 public launch in 2022, over 900 workers across 29 states have organized, 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.