WFWU Weekly Newsletter, March 8, 2024: Celebrating another victory!

Celebrating Another Victory: Prospect Connecticut Branch Joins Wells Fargo Workers United - CWA!

We are thrilled to announce that the Wells Fargo branch in Prospect, Connecticut voted unanimously on March 7 to join Wells Fargo Workers United - Communications Workers of America (CWA), becoming the fifth union branch in the United States and counting! Congratulations to Joanne, Melissa, Candida, Ann-Marie and Monica!

"We are proud to become the fifth Wells Fargo branch in the United States to form a union because we need and deserve a real voice at work to address the many pressures causing severe mental health stress for thousands of bankers and tellers," said Joanne Cretella, Associate Personal Banker at the Prospect, Connecticut branch. "The lack of staffing means many of us must perform the work of two or three people with no increase in compensation. This increases the risk that someone will make a mistake, undermining our ability to effectively serve our customers, and throwing a sustainable work-life balance for us completely out the window." 

And our momentum keeps growing: branches in Florida and Texas file for union elections!

Two more branches joined our movement— Belleview, Florida and Cedar Hills, Texas— delivered their union announcement letters to their branch managers this morning and we filed petitions with the National Labor Relations Board to schedule elections. 
Many more branches are in the process of preparing to announce their union elections soon. And non-branch workers are organizing too! If you would like to learn how to organize your workplace at Wells Fargo to build the power of our union, we encourage you to sign up and join us for our upcoming WFWU Union Organizing Meeting. Together, we can continue to build solidarity, amplify our voices, and fight for real change.

Don't miss out! All non-managers are welcome, regardless of your position or job title, whether you work remotely or in the office, or what line of business you work in. Reserve your spot now for the upcoming WFWU Union Organizing Meeting on March 12th by registering here.

VIDEO: Corporations’ 5 Big Lies about Unions 

Our 2nd National General Membership Meeting brought together branch and non-branch workers from 26 different states!

Our 2nd general membership meeting on March 3 was an exciting step forward bringing together branch and non-branch workers from all across the country. Thank you to Hector, Sabrina, Scott, Kim and Kier for presenting and facilitating the meeting and our breakout sessions; and answering people’s questions.  

In addition to presenting the progress we’ve made over the last three months building our union from the ground up, we discussed “what is a bargaining unit” and reviewed the union victory checklist to help people understand the process of organizing your branch or department. Remember, you have the right to form a union, so reach out to us to learn how you can get started.

ICYMI

• The Guardian, “US banks abandon ‘bare minimum’ environmental standards project, alarming climate groups “
• Reuter, “Wells Fargo is sued over response to fake accounts scandal” 
• ATM Marketplace, “Wells Fargo asks for more time in racial discrimination lawsuit”
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Yes. Being in a right-to-work state doesn’t prevent you from joining or forming a union. No matter what state you live in, you have the right to organize with your coworkers because your rights are protected by federal law, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and enforced by the National Labor Relations Board. As a result, the process for joining and organizing is the same regardless of where you live.

The only difference is that in right-to-work states workers employees are entitled to the benefits of a union contract—including the right to have the union take up their grievance if their employer abuses them—without paying any of the cost. This means that if an employer mistreats a worker who does not pay a union representation fee, the union must prosecute that worker’s grievance just as it would a dues-paying member, even if it costs tens of thousands of dollars. While these anti-worker laws are designed to be a strain on union resources and decrease union membership, right-to-work laws have been around since the 1940s and haven’t stopped us yet.

We welcome workers from every state to join our movement!

Deeper dive: “‘Right-to-Work’ states still have lower wages”, Economic Policy Institute.