Union with little inroads at banks tries to organize Wells Fargo workers in Charlotte

On a recent Friday, more than 20 labor activists stood outside Wells Fargo operations in uptown and the university area of Charlotte, North Carolina, passing out flyers to employees about their right to form a union — a move sure to displease the bank bosses.

One picture on the flyer showed a group of smiling workers in Apex, the first North Carolina bank branch to join Wells Fargo Workers United, a National Labor Relations Board certified union that’s affiliated with longtime labor union powerhouse the Communications Workers of America.

The Committee for Better Banks, the group organizing the union drive along with the CWA, hopes that the nascent union movement can spread to Charlotte.

The city is an inviting target. San Francisco-based Wells Fargo has its largest employment base here, with about 27,000 employees. Activists are pushing to improve pay, staffing levels and benefits.

But Wells Fargo insists its staffers are better off dealing with management directly. And so far, the union movement has attracted only the smallest of fractions of the workforce. What’s more, labor experts say it’s rare for banks to have unions, especially in right-to-work states like North Carolina, which limit the impact of unions.

The first Wells Fargo union was formed in 2021.

“When (employees) don’t have a union, they’re left to go to their manager or HR alone and they have no power to get heard,” CBB Organizing Director Nick Weiner said. “When they collectively come together, they’re going to have some power.”

Supporters from the local CWA district targeted about 30 bank branches and a large call center while in Charlotte, according to organizing coordinator Christina Ronk.

Their goal is for large Wells Fargo offices to take notice of their work to unionize in Charlotte. But organizers said there’s no timetable for when they think their work might pay off. So far for now, several Wells Fargo employees in big Charlotte offices have expressed interest in having a union, according to Ronk.

She said there’s a “fear mentality” when it comes to speaking up at Wells Fargo, especially at call centers. Employees are afraid their jobs might be in jeopardy if they stand with the union, activists say.

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