Bank Workers Escalate Fight for Better Working Conditions

Bank workers from the Committee for Better Banks, a CWA project, escalated their fight for better working conditions last week, meeting with staff from key Senate offices in Washington, D.C., testifying at a congressional briefing, and meeting with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. To cap off the busy week, the workers spoke on a panel at a conference at the Solidarity Center put on by the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Foundation.

The congressional briefing, hosted by the Congressional Progressive Caucus, shone a spotlight on a new report revealing that frontline bank workers at the country's biggest banks still face high-pressure quotas, low pay, and few opportunities to advocate for better customers.

Lariese Reeves, who works at Santander Consumer USA, said at the briefing that the company has a constantly changing metrics system to determine workers' pay. "People work to feed and care for themselves and their family, so changing the metrics midstream could be a life-changing decision on whether I can repair the car I need for transportation after paying rent," Reeves said. "This adds stress for workers and can affect interactions with consumers. We just want the time and ability to help our customers thoroughly."

Peggy Spencer, who works in customer service at Santander Consumer USA, spoke about the workers' demand for Santander to allow employees to form a union without interference. "We do not have a voice on the job. When we try to speak up, our voices cannot reach the executives that need to hear what we have to say. Banco Santander workers are represented by unions in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom. A union would help make the bank better, it would improve customer service, and it would make our jobs better. We could be more productive, which is better for the bank."

The importance of strengthening protections for bank workers and supporting their efforts to join together in unions was also highlighted by Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz during an event in New York City held to coincide with the United Nations' annual High-level Political Forum.

Bank workers from the Committee for Better Banks, a CWA project, spoke about their working conditions at a briefing hosted by the Congressional Progressive Caucus.