Unions are coming for bank branches. Yours could be next on the list.

WH_Pics - stock.adobe.com

Unions gained momentum in the banking industry over the past year, and they have not shown any signs of slowing down. If you think your bank is immune — think again.

In November, the Communications Workers of America filed their first representation petition at a Wells Fargo retail branch. In December, Wells Fargo bankers, tellers and bank coordinators voted "yes" to the union, making it the first retail bank with a bargaining unit in over 40 years. Since then — and in just over three months — the CWA managed to file eight more petitions at Wells Fargo branches around the country. The union has won four elections so far and awaits three more.

If election data from 2023 tells us anything, it's that the CWA is not slowing down. On average, the CWA has filed three petitions per month at Wells Fargo to date. According to the National Labor Relations Board, over 2,500 representation petitions were filed in fiscal year 2023 — up 53% from fiscal year 2021. 2023 saw the highest number of petitions filed since 2016. The union won over 70% of these elections.

The CWA is a well-established union with resources that are more than sufficient to continue on in their efforts. However, established unions are not the only threat to the banking industry. "Homegrown" unions or groups of employees "doing it themselves" are also on the rise. These unions may or may not receive help from a well-established union (for example, the CWA, the Service Employees International Union or the Teamsters). They are led by fellow employees rather than coordinating with an outside organizer. These unions are becoming increasingly popular because their leaders provide a unique perspective on the issues driving employee disaffection. Examples of homegrown unions include the Starbucks Workers United, which has filed over 620 petitions since summer 2021, the Alphabet Workers Union and Trader Joe's United. These homegrown unions are often made possible with the help of "salts," or employees who apply for a position at a company solely for the purpose of organizing that company.

In a similar vein is the Committee for Better Banks. The Committee for Better Banks is not a union, but a coalition of bank workers campaigning to organize banks around the country. The CWA founded the Committee for Better Banks. The Committee for Better Banks actively encourages banking employees to sign and circulate a "Bank Worker Bill of Rights" and present it to their employers. The demands include "a fair share of the profits [the employees'] work creates"; "eliminate unreasonable sales goals or performance metrics that force [employees] to push unnecessary products on our customers"; and full-time stable employment through the elimination of international operators.

Regulation and compliance

Federal judge orders Chamber to explain why late fee lawsuit was filed in Texas

A Texas judge ordered the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to explain why it sued the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in Texas to halt the bureau's $8 credit card late fee rule after the bureau filed a motion accusing the trade group of "forum shopping."

By Kate Berry

March 19

Not only have union petition filings gone up substantially, but so have unfair labor practice charge filings. Specifically, the CWA has filed three charges at Wells Fargo since the first petition filing in November 2023. Two of these ULPs arise from the sole branch at which the union has so far lost an election, signaling that it intends to fight the results. Overall, the NLRB reported 19,854 ULPs were filed in 2023 — a 10% increase from 2022. ULPs are not only directed at employers with bargaining units. Any employer — union or not — can have a ULP filed against it.

What does all of this have to do with your bank? Why has the CWA taken a sudden interest in the banking industry? The answer: untapped potential. Banks are not the typical breeding ground for a union. Because of the lack of experience in the industry, union organizers likely could not relate to bankers. Banking employees may not have even realized they could form a union.

Turmoil in the banking industry and the financial crisis heightened employees' awareness of what they believed to be mistreatment. Whether the issues were allegations of fraudulent activity, high sales pressures, reports of mishandling debt collection or stagnant wages (the median pay for bank tellers in the U.S. is just over $17 an hour according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is lower than many fast-food restaurants' starting pay), employees have started to show discontent. The 2008 financial crisis lit a slow-burning, but now fast-moving, fuse exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The bargaining unit at Beneficial State Bank in Portland, Oregon, brought this all to the forefront. In March 2022, Beneficial State Bank voluntarily recognized the union after a few months of discussions. This gave the CWA all of the momentum it needed. Then, in January 2022, Genesee Co-Op in Rochester, New York, also voluntarily recognized the union. Almost two years later, Wells Fargo and its thousands of branches became a target. If the "Starbucks effect" has taught us anything, it is that all you need is one location to catch wind of a union and you may soon have hundreds of petitions on your hands. It is particularly easy for a union to organize a location with small numbers of employees, such as most retail banks.

Bottom line: Unionizing in the banking industry is lucrative. Unions are not going to treat banks differently than they do any other retail location. The playbook is the same: Unionize one and the rest will follow. If they will not treat banks as a separate industry with separate concerns, then banks should not treat them as a nonconcern.

You can prepare for the union's arrival. Train your supervisors to engage with your employees and field questions about the union on their own, and within the bounds of the law. Even if you cannot give the employees everything they want, explain why. The worst thing a leader can do is brush off an employee. When employees feel reassured that their supervisors hear and support them, they will not look to a third party for answers. The time to get prepared is now.