Bank Worker Organizing Gains Ground - Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly

"Of course, forming unions at small banks and credit unions is one thing. It's quite another to attempt it at Wells Fargo, a bank with $1.9 trillion in assets and an estimated 217,000 workers. The union effort at Wells Fargo remains small, but workers at a growing number of branches are voting in favor of unionization, early signs of a possible sea change in labor relations in the banking industry."

"US bank worker unions have been a rarity. But that's changing. In 2020, 113 employees at California's Beneficial State Bank voted to join the Communications Workers of America (CWA) in 2020, leading to the first union contract seen in the industry in 40 years. This was followed by employees at other local and regional banks joining unions at places like New York's Genesee Co-Op Federal Credit Union."

"Workers at Wells Fargo first voted to join a union in 2023, when Albuquerque bank workers voted to join the CWA. Since then, Labor Notes reports that "29 more branches from Apopka, Florida, to Casper, Wyoming have voted to join the union, as have 35 workers who review customer and employee complaints." This works out to a total of about 200 workers, a tiny sliver of Wells Fargo's workforce, but a major breakthrough in an industry famed for its hostility toward unions."

"The Committee for Better Banks (CBB), an affiliate of the CWA, is supporting the workers' unionization efforts. Cole Weber, a former Wells Fargo employee and current CBB organizer, explained to NPQ that there's an idea across the banking industry that unionization isn't possible because these organizations are so large. "There's an intimidation factor that makes people feel like it's impossible to do anything," Weber said."

Unionization among US bank workers has increased from scattered wins at small banks to organizing at large institutions. In 2020, 113 employees at Beneficial State Bank voted to join the Communications Workers of America, producing the first union contract in the industry in four decades. Local and regional bank employees followed with union drives at places like Genesee Co-Op Federal Credit Union. Wells Fargo workers began voting to unionize in 2023; roughly 200 employees across branches and complaint-review teams have joined the CWA so far. The Committee for Better Banks supports these efforts, while organizers note size and intimidation hinder organizing in big banks.

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