Organizing Update

Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo workers at two bank branches in Albuquerque, N.M., and Bethel, Ala., filed for the bank’s first-ever union elections on Monday. In a petition to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the Albuquerque and Bethel-based bankers and tellers declared their intent to join CWA’s Wells Fargo Workers United (WFWU) and take a transformative step towards repairing Wells Fargo’s toxic culture and improving the U.S. financial system.

The union elections, the first at a major U.S. bank in decades, mark a groundbreaking moment for WFWU’s nationwide union drive and financial services workers’ rapidly growing fight for a seat at the table. Even as Wells Fargo executives attempt to push back against the union effort, workers across Wells Fargo divisions and geographies are seeking to reform the banking industry from the bottom up in order to create a better financial system for workers and customers alike, starting with Wells Fargo, the scandal-ridden bank with a notoriously toxic culture.

“Wells Fargo workers in every state, division, and department need a voice on the job for ourselves and our customers. I've worked at Wells Fargo for nearly 10 years, and in the seven years since the fake account scandal, three CEOs have promised change and failed to deliver. Now it is finally our turn to lead,” said Sabrina Perez, a Senior Premier Banker at Wells Fargo’s Albuquerque branch. “We are joining together in a union in order to improve Wells Fargo's culture and move the bank towards a brighter future where workers and customers are treated equitably and with respect. While we are the first Wells Fargo workers to file for union elections, we will not be the last. We invite all our colleagues to reach out and join our movement. Change is possible, and we all deserve to have our voices heard.”

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CSU UCW-CWA Colorado

This week, campus workers at Colorado State University (CSU) voted to affiliate with CWA Local 7799, marking the addition of the newest chapter of United Campus Workers-CWA Colorado. These new CWAers are graduate and undergraduate workers, professionals in administration, faculty (including tenure track, non-tenure track, and adjunct professors), and postdocs. With its wall-to-wall structure, the CSU UCW-CWA Colorado chapter will welcome all campus workers, regardless of position, to build power, increase raises, and improve the benefits and working conditions for everyone working at the university.

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More Organizing News

Over the past month, workers have joined CWA at Education Week and Rising for Justice (Washington-Baltimore NewsGuild, TNG-CWA Local 32035), The Guardian and Journal Pioneer newspapers (CWA Canada Local 30130), Legal Services of Eastern Missouri (United Media Guild, TNG-CWA Local 36047), Google Help (Alphabet Workers Union-CWA Local 9009), and Wisconsin Watch (Milwaukee Newspaper Guild, TNG-CWA Local 34051).