Campaign Recap: 10 union branches, 4 more elections coming up

The Wells Fargo union movement is gaining steam! Ten union branches across the country are now organized and standing in solidarity. This significant milestone highlights the determination we have to combat challenges such as reduced staffing, increased workloads and inadequate pay.

Here's a recap of the branches that have unionized so far:

1. 12/20/2023 Albuquerque, NM: The movement kicked off with the Eldorado branch, where employees rallied together against unfair treatment and low wages. 
2. 1/11/2024 Daytona Beach, FL: Employees in Daytona Beach joined the union, motivated by the need for better compensation and working conditions.
3. 2/1/2024 Wilmington, DE: The Fairfax branch united to address staffing challenges and advocate for improved job satisfaction.
4. 2/8/2024 Virginia Beach, VA: Employees at the Little Neck branch joined forces to demand fair wages and adequate staffing levels to serve customers effectively.
5. 3/7/2024 Prospect, CT: The Prospect branch became a part of the union, standing up against increased workloads and diminishing job satisfaction.
6. 3/19/2024 Apopka, FL: Apopka employees joined the union to push for better compensation and to address the unsustainable workload placed on staff.
7. 3/28/2024 Egg Harbor City, NJ: The Pomona branch united in solidarity, striving for fair treatment, more staffing and improved working conditions.
8. 4/5/2024 Cedar Hill, TX: Employees in the Cedar Hill branch on Highway 67 organized to tackle staffing challenges and advocate for better wages.
9. 4/10/2024 Apex, NC: The Beaver Creek Commons branch joined the union, aiming to address issues of workload, fair pay and job satisfaction.
10. 4/16/24 Bradenton, FL: Most recently, the 75th Street branch in Bradenton made history by becoming the 10th Wells Fargo branch to organize and join the union. 

Every week our movement continues to grow, Wells Fargo employees across the nation are standing together to advocate for their rights and not being intimidated by the anti-union rhetoric your branch manager is being told to deliver in your morning huddles. (We know most branch managers don’t have their hearts in delivering these anti-union messages and are just being pressured by top executives who are unfairly saying it's their fault that workers are organizing. When we know the truth. The decisions that affect our lives are made by top executives at the bank!) The team in each branch decides to move forward and form a union together because of their collective desire for fair treatment, better compensation, and improved working conditions. 

Upcoming Elections! 

May 2 - Highland Avenue branch in National City, California

May 16 - Sierra Vista, Arizona branch

Breaking News! TODAY, the teams at two more branches announced they were forming a union. The teams at the Havertown, Pennsylvania branch and South Hulen branch in Fort Worth, Texas each delivered their union announcement letters to their branch managers enabling our attorneys to file petitions with the NLRB to schedule union elections. The election dates will be scheduled soon.

Who wants to be next? Register for one of our upcoming Union classes taught by one of our union organizers to get more information

Links

“Union with little inroads at banks tries to organize Wells Fargo workers in Charlotte.”The Charlotte Observer. Chase Jordan. 
“Amazon’s Anti-Labor Tactics Spotlighted in Sundance Doc ‘Union,”The Wrap
The Sundance documentary “Union” puts a spotlight on the extreme anti-union tactics employed by Amazon as it tries to quash a historic labor organizing effort at its Staten Island warehouse.
“Unions pushing ban on 'captive audience meetings.' What that would mean for RI,” The Providence Journal

VIDEO: How the Media Screws Over Workers in Unions

Workers across the country are unionizing and striking for better working conditions. But if you're watching corporate news coverage, you're probably getting a pretty skewed perspective of what these labor movements are all about.

Question of the Week: What is a captive audience meeting and what do I do if I am called into one?

One of the tactics used by employers in their UnionBustingPlaybook, is the use of “captive audience meetings”.  Captive audience meetings are mandatory meetings held by an employer during work hours in order to pressure employees against forming and joining a union, interrogate workers about the organizing campaign, and disseminate union-bashing materials like videos and flyers. 

If you work in a branch, you may have noticed that recently Wells Fargo has started using morning huddles to deliver anti-union messages and propaganda about once a week. This is a form of a captive audience meeting. Before the huddle, branch managers are instructed to review the new microsite, “Stronger as One Team”, and then read from a script about “the benefits you already enjoy working directly with Wells Fargo without a union.” The script is not unique. Every company uses the same anti-union script in their captive audience meetings.

But if your morning huddle turns into an anti-union meeting, instead of about your work, you have the right to ask if it’s a mandatory meeting, and to exercise your right to excuse yourself so you can go back to work, since the anti-union meetings are actually keeping you from doing your work. 

Besides, branch managers are literally just reading from a script. Here’s a copy of one of the anti-union Huddle guides so you can see for yourself:

Branch managers are instructed to keep referring to our union as a “third party” because they are nervous that the more we organize, the more collective power we will have to negotiate for better staffing, better pay and fair treatment so we can reduce our stress levels! 

Yes, our voice is our own, but Wells Fargo management will keep giving our concerns lip service until we unite all our voices together in a union.

Because it’s so common for employers to conduct captive audience meetings (also called mandatory meetings because they almost always hide the true agenda of the meeting by advertising it as just a regular work meeting), some states have passed laws making them illegal. So far, seven states have passed laws banning mandatory captive audience meetings: Washington (2024),  New York (2023), Minnesota (2023), Maine (2023), Connecticut (2022), Oregon (2010), and Wisconsin (enacted 2010; not enforced). If you live in one of these states and have been forced to attend a mandatory anti-union meeting by Wells Fargo, please reach out to us as soon as possible. 

Remember, you have the right to speak up in your morning Huddle (or team meeting) and challenge misinformation and “half-truths” if your manager starts spreading anti-union propaganda; and you have the right to ask to excuse yourself so you can get back to work. It’s unlawful for employers to interrogate you about your thoughts and opinions about forming a union.