Interesting events are happening in the banking industry, Wells Fargo has had a lot of union activity, several units have filed for a decertification vote with mixed results. According to the Wells Fargo Workers United-CWA web site there is no ratified contracts signed yet, the first union contract negotiations started in Albuquerque, New Mexico on November 5, 2024, with Wells Fargo management, there are 22 union branches across 14 states that organized, the union is seeking a national contract.

While some credit unions have unionized workforces, unionization at banks has been rare until recently.

The US banking industry was once a very hard target that unions avoided, Beneficial State Bank, serving California, Oregon, and Washington, was the first US bank organized in 2020 was the first bank unionized in 40 years, Beneficial State Bank voluntarily recognized the Communication Workers of America after over 100 of its employees across 13 locations demonstrated majority support for the CWA in three states

Continuing the trend, in January 2022, employees at Genesee Co-Op Federal Credit Union in Rochester, NY unionized. Employees unionized and In January 2023, Lake Michigan Credit Union workers also successfully unionized the Wyoming, Michigan location.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, only 1.1% of workers in the banking and finance industry are unionized. A 2013 study, it was commissioned by the Committee for Better Banks, a New York based group advocating for the rights of banking and finance employees stated on their site that “mass layoffs, high turnover, lagging pay and benefits, and a lack of transparency as the driving factors spurring banking and finance employees’ interest in unionization, and those concerns have only increased in recent years”. The Committee for Better Banks is affiliated with the Communications Workers of America (“CWA”) union and is part of their strategy to increase their organizing attempts.

Companies no longer have the luxury to ignore union activity, well trained supervision who understands union tactics and how to spot union activity along with a comprehensive communication policy are vital to maintaining a productive union free environment.
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