In the latest allegation that Wells Fargo has engaged in union busting activity, employees who are pushing to unionize say the bank's management engaged in unfair labor practices at an Oregon call center.
https://www.americanbanker.com/news/wells-fargo-employees-in-oregon-allege-anti-union-behavior-by-managers
@2bog - I admittedly don’t know all the details and specifics, but it’s a 30% voting threshold of employees saying they want to hold a vote. If that level is surpassed, a vote is held and majority rules.
As for specific locations that are not branches it might depend on the breakdown of the business lines within the building. It could be done unit by unit, but then there’s a chance they fire that whole unit. That risk is still there with branches, but a branch is a cut and dry location where everyone is mostly in the same couple roles, instead of an office building with multiple LOBs. I’d say you’d start by organizing branches first, then departments, then lines of business, then the company. More word of mouth about union elections could make it easier to gain the yes votes needed at those later, larger stages. Nobody’s really tried yet, so it’s conjecture. There were some recent union victories within the last year or 2 at Beneficial State Bank out of WA/OR. Here at WF, if workers were successful in unionization, it’s likely we’d organize with the CWA, or Communications Workers of America. We could also join another union, like a typical blue collar union, but that’s not as likely as CWA.
Thanks for the response. So the 30% signers is location based, not overall company based? Does that also mean does if 30% of employees at 600 S 4th st in Minneapolis signed the agreement they could unionize? But people from the 550 building could only join if they moved to that building (until the 30% threshold is found at their building)? Or is it a city-wide 30% needed?
If branch A finds two people like your example, what does that do for all other branches? Does it grease the skids for other branches and do they join the same union group or do they find their own and have their own agreements? Does every subsequent branch need to find their own 30%?
@1njk - The point is we shouldn’t have to leave the company to be treated well.
Start by looking up the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The act outlines worker rights on forming a union, what thresholds have to be hit to both initiate a union election, and to win/lose a union election. Unionization could be attempted a couple ways: the first is company-wide, where everybody votes. This might not go so well here because high-paid employees would be less apt to be pro-union. The other main option would be to start with bank branches, like how Starbucks and Amazon union organizers have won victories. If the first branch won a union, others would see it’s possible and it could spread quickly, which is why management is so opposed. As an example, if your branch staff has been reduced to 5 employees, you’d only need 2 people (30%+) to sign a card or petition saying they want a union to get an election. It a majority of those 5 people (so 3+) vote for the union, they have won a union. This union could create employment contracts that outline set wages for each role, propose enhanced benefits, set regular promotional and raise schedules, etc. So… heck yeah I support a union at WF!!!
Color me interested. I legitimately don’t understand/can’t see how a Union can help an employee at Wells so feel free to enlighten me. And I don’t mean broad strokes of “protects workers” nor do I mean specifics like “guaranteed 15 min breaks.”
Wells doesn’t have a monopoly on anything I know of. Doesn’t have any controlling command over any region. No giant factory where a localized population is dependent on it for employment.
What could a Wells specific Union do for me that I couldn’t do for myself by simply leaving for a new/better/different opportunity?
Which positions would a union cover? You targeting certain roles such as call center, bankers, the lower paying type positions? Or looking to target the entirety of the bank?
@bjz Not the guy you're responding to, and am admittedly one of the pro-union commenters below, but the problem is he is acting in his own self interest, from the perspective of shareholder, especially if his foot is out the door anyway.
Is it in poor taste to come to a layoff board and gloat about that, given that layoffs would similarly line his pockets? Yes, of course. But to be totally fair to him I do get where he's coming from and the...perspective...isn't necessarily irrational, even if the idea that customers and shareholders will bankrupt the company out of some misguided spite towards unions isn't. There are tons of unionized public companies out there that still exist.
It's important to remember though that most of us should realize his interests are aligned against most of ours, as workers here. Charlie and other massive shareholders directly benefit from layoffs, suppressing your wages, giving you worse benefits, and making your life miserable enough to quit without giving you severance. They will lie trough their teeth to you about the ills of unions to achieve that, as they frequently do on here.
And you keep fighting against your own interests* by automatically assuming that a union contract would be bad for everyone without even seeing the contract (no sane person would vote for a bad contract).
*It's natural to want to think of your savings as 'wealth', but real wealth means that you're no one's employee.
For as long as you are an employee, don't you want the best conditions?
"Don't let the door hit you, or your vast mountain of wealth, on the way out. "
I will not let it. I'll dance actually.
my 'wealth' was given to me by wells fargo with their stock matching, so I didn't spend a dime on it. so, between that, and the RSR shares, I'll bail before a union will drive the company into the ground.
But, at the very least, I hope nothing happens before I collect the dividend in June.
Keep fighting the good fight!
:)
You're making the same mistake as too many others.
You literally don't know what a union contract would look like at Wells. Rather than find out (and vote no if you don't like it), you'd rather keep being treated poorly by Wells.
There's no harm in seeing what a union contract would look like. Why cut yourself off at the knees? Just see it, and then decide. (We don't always know everything like we sometimes think we do.)
Don't let the door hit you, or your vast mountain of wealth, on the way out.
Guys we better think twice about a union it might offend the delicate sensibilities of our beloved shareholders!
Some of you are trained like seals to angrily bark and clap at the mere mention of the word 'union'.
Yep.
and, like a trained seal, the day a union shows up will be the day I move my accounts and divest myself of all my employee shares of stock.
'cause, I see the end will be near.
but, Keep up the good fight!
Maybe work your way out of a call center instead of licking your Cheetos fingers bi--hing at the world
Right on cue that one nutcase is flooding the forum with inane posts to bury this one. Someone sure is desperate to avoid you giving a raise.
A Union is not going to get respect. It will be more difficult to terminate bad employees. Has its good and bad points but not going to change all the items in here that people b***h about.
Lock up any manager that stands in the way. Time to lead the charge and stand together!!!!!!
The union is coming nationwide. Wells has mistreated its employees for too long. Trust has been shattered.
Some of you are trained like seals to angrily bark and clap at the mere mention of the word 'union'. It's time to modernize that viewpoint, and stop choosing abuse over respect.