Wells Fargo workers unionize in Florida

Workers at a Wells Fargo branch in Daytona Beach, Florida, have voted to form a union, joining Wells Fargo Workers United (WFWU), part of UNI Global Union affiliate, the Communications Workers of America (CWA). The success on 11 January, marks the second Wells Fargo branch to unionize after workers in New Mexico won a union election late last year.

The worker organizing effort at Wells Fargo is the first of its kind at a major bank in the United States. It comes after years of pressure from workers to hold Wells Fargo accountable to promises it has made, including around diversity and inclusion and access to banking services.

“We’re incredibly proud to be the second branch of Wells Fargo workers to form a union and take this much-needed step to make the bank better for all of us. Now with a true seat at the table, we look forward to negotiating improvements to staffing, workloads, pay inequities, and many other issues,” said Corinne Jefferson, a Personal Banker at Wells Fargo’s Daytona Beach branch on International Speedway.

Beyond Florida, additional branch workers have filed for elections with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), including in Wilmington, Delaware, as well as Virginia Beach, Virginia. Workers across branches and call centres are organizing with WFWU and the Committee for Better Banks in response to understaffing, a lack of compensation and the importance of having a collective voice.

Since Wells Fargo bankers and tellers filed for their first union elections in November, they have been actively pushing back against Wells Fargo’s anti-union attacks, which includes the bank sending out anti-union materials to workers across the country and flying union-busting representatives to branches in a feeble attempt to intimidate workers.

“Wells Fargo Workers United is just getting started. We’re incredibly proud of the Daytona Beach Wells Fargo workers for joining their colleagues in Albuquerque in a successful union vote,” said Committee for Better Banks Organizing Director Nick Weiner. “Rather than engaging in a rampant anti-union campaign, Wells Fargo must listen to the workers who are the bank’s eyes and ears, and respect their right to organize.”

Angelo Di Cristo, Head of UNI Finance said:

“What’s happening at Wells Fargo is incredibly exciting. This is the second time workers have organized in just a matter of weeks and we hope it will lead to a wave of organizing at Wells Fargo across the U.S. We congratulate the workers at Daytona Beach for standing up for their right to a join a union, as well as the Committee for Better Banks and CWA for spearheading this union drive to ensure that workers get a fair deal and a voice on the job.”

Photo credit: Bankers & Tellers at Wells Fargo Branch in Daytona Beach, Florida Join New Mexico Colleagues as Members of CWA’s Wells Fargo Workers United. Copyright: CWA/Committee for Better Banks