Rancho Bernardo Branch in San Diego, CA filed for union election

Wells Fargo feels the heat during contract negotiations as workers mobilize across the country

As our national bargaining team sat across the table from Wells Fargo executives on February 26, 27 and 28 in Albuquerque, New Mexico for the 4th round of contract negotiations, Wells Fargo workers and CWA Local Unions and members were mobilizing like never before. Coordinating across 26 branches in 14 states, workers emailed a letter to CEO Charlie Scharf signed by union Wells Fargo workers across the country.

CWA Local unions handed out fliers to customers to educate them about the benefits to customers of having a union branch where workers are able to bargain for better staffing and service levels, fair compensation and job security to protect against managers applying unethical or inappropriate pressures onto workers. We even helped a manager file an Unfair Labor Practice charge against Wells Fargo for being retaliated against because she refused to engage in unlawful activity of harassing union members in the Eldorado Branch in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Wells Fargo executives noticed and definitely felt the heat. The pace of bargaining picked up with contract proposals being countered and passed back and forth at least 33 times.

Just wait until Wells Fargo sees what we have in store for them in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, see some of the action photos below and click below to read the full bargaining update. 

Read Full Bargaining Update

Are you being treated unfairly and want to do something about it? Sign up for a Union 101 Class Today!

Sign up for Union 101 Class

Here are some of the types of inquiries and messages we get from your coworkers at Wells Fargo every day:

"I would like to know more about unionizing in my branch." 

" I completed one call [Union 101 Class] but I want to attend another so hopefully this will get everyone on board. Thank You We NEED A UNION to protect us!"

"I was told as a teller that the company reaches a pay cap and then wants you to move onto different positions to be able to make more money. I find that even the lower raises provided to people does not compensate for the higher demands of this economy. We should be fairly compensated for the amount of effort put into our positions of employment regardless of which position. Tellers work very hard, sometimes even harder than the bankers considering the high volume of people and funds we handle. We are the first eyes for risk prevention very often and even if someone stays in that position for more than 5 years, they should continue to be compensated for their dedication, hard work, and to help match inflation."

Do you have a similar question or know someone who does? Sign up for a Union 101 Class Today!

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Rancho Barnardo Branch in San Diego files for union election

Wells Fargo workers in California are finding their groove. Following in the footsteps of the team at the Lake Elsinore Branch, the team at the Rancho Bernardo Branch located at 16901 Bernardo Centre Drive in San Diego delivered their signed letter to management on Monday demanding they voluntarily recognize their union while also filing to have the National Labor Relations Board schedule a union vote. 

The NLRB has scheduled the union vote for the Lake Elsinore Branch for March 24. Let's show them our support.

These will make the 2nd and 3rd union branches in California and the 27th and 28th union units at the bank overall. Our CEO Charlie Scharf is clearly flipping his lid because he never thought that our momentum would just keep building.

Spread the exciting news by sharing the post below! 

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Do you need a little more encouragement to sign up for a Union 101 Class? Watch this video...

Watch Our Video

WFWU Member Publishes Op-Ed!!!

"At Wells Fargo, I saw firsthand how excessive CEO pay harms workers and customers."

Kieran Cuadras, Opinion Editorial, Inequality. Org

I started my career at Wells Fargo over 22 years ago — first as a teller, then as a branch manager, and later as an investigator in the department that handles misconduct allegations. 

I would like to be able to say that things changed after the accounts scandal. Unfortunately, Wells Fargo’s current CEO, Charles Scharf, continues to cut corners in ways that put customers at risk. Last year, we found out about a plan to cut costs by outsourcing jobs from our investigations department to India, where, in an ironic twist, we reviewed human rights complaints from Wells Fargo employees forced to stay at work even after falling ill.

We were concerned not only about losing our jobs but about how this might put our clients’ private information at risk — a particular concern for our many active-duty military clients.

Question of the Week

Question: With a union, will I still be able to speak directly with my direct supervisor or manager?

Answer: Absolutely! One of the falsehoods spread by Wells Fargo is that you won't be able to talk directly with your manager any longer and instead, you'll have to speak with "the union" first, as if a union is a "third party." But we all know by now that you are the union. You and your coworkers at Wells Fargo are the members of the union.

But you will carry out your job duties and responsibilities and work with your direct supervisor or manager in the same way with a union as without a union. The only difference will be that you will have a true voice at work so that you can feel secure speaking up if you feel like you are being discriminated against, harassed or retaliated against for exercising your right to form and join a union.

If you have additional questions or ideas for future newsletter stories, please email us at [email protected]. 

We will bring you the Top #WFunion updates each week. If you have additional questions or ideas for future newsletter stories, please email us at [email protected]. 

Are you ready to stand with us and make positive change at Wells Fargo?  Email us at [email protected] today!