A group of Wells Fargo conduct management investigators voted to unionize Wednesday, becoming the first nonbranch workers to join Wells Fargo Workers United, according to an announcement emailed to Banking Dive.
Following a 21-16 vote, workers from several locations join 23 branches that have voted to bargain collectively.
Members of the conduct management team are responsible for the intake, research and documentation of external and internal allegations pertaining to the company. Workers are not centrally located, with many others located in Minnesota, Texas, California and Virginia.
In a letter to management detailing their intent to form a union, workers cited the issues that propelled them to form a union.
“For the better part of a year, staffing issues, a lack of transparency in enterprise policies, inconsistent training and job security concerns have been rising challenges [that] Intake has worked to overcome,” the workers wrote in the letter, seen by Banking Dive.
“[I]n the last few months those challenges have become near insurmountable,” they wrote, detailing additional challenges, including the revocation of work from home accommodations.
“Through a union, we can truly establish a direct dialogue that is respectful, transparent and actionable,” they wrote.
According to the Committee for Better Banks, which has guided WFWU in its union drives, bank management responded to the letter discouraging workers from continuing the campaign and subsequently laid off 11 workers about a week before the votes were to be cast.
The Communications Workers of America, WFWU’s parent organization, filed an unfair labor practice with the National Labor Relations Board in response to the layoffs.
Wells Fargo spokesperson Rachel Wall told Banking Dive that the layoffs were routine, however.
“We regularly review and adjust staffing levels to align with market conditions and the needs of our businesses. This decision was made earlier this year and has nothing to do with the union,” she said in an emailed statement.
“We respect our employees’ rights to vote for or against union representation and appreciate their careful consideration of this decision,” Wall said. “We believe our employees are best served by working directly with Wells Fargo and our leadership, and, within our rights, we will continue to speak with our employees about these matters so that each employee can make an informed decision.”
Wells’ response to union efforts drew attention from Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown, D-OH, last fall, due to allegations that the bank retaliated against union-interested workers.
The conduct management team’s vote, which was certified Tuesday by the NLRB, comes roughly a month after the WFWU bargaining team first convened with Wells’ management in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to begin contract bargaining sessions.
A second three-day round of negotiations started Wednesday.
The Albuquerque branch last December became the first Wells location to vote to unionize.
