Wells Fargo CEO responds to union push at shareholder meeting

Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg

Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf on Tuesday highlighted ways that the megabank helps and listens to its employees, pushing back against the unionization efforts that some workers have launched.

Scharf made the comments at the bank's annual shareholder meeting, where shareholders rejected a proposal to bring on an outside monitor to oversee whether Wells Fargo is infringing on employees' right to organize.

A handful of branches have chosen to unionize in recent months, though Wells has more than 4,000 branches across the country. Organizers say they're gaining momentum in an unprecedented effort to unionize one of the country's biggest banks.

Scharf said Tuesday that the bank respects employees' freedom of association and is "committed to bargaining in good faith" with employees who've chosen to unionize their workplaces. But he also emphasized the company won't stand by without making the case that employees are best served by working directly with management.

"It's important to make clear that we continue to believe that our employees are best served by working directly with Wells Fargo and our leadership team," Scharf said. "We intend to exercise our right to speak with our employees about these matters to make sure that they make informed decisions."

Efforts to unionize Wells Fargo branches, call centers and other locations have been in the works for years, with the union-backed Committee for Better Banks working to organize employees across the country. Organizers got their first victory in December, when employees at a New Mexico branch voted 5-3 to approve a union.

Other locations where employees have formed unions include Albuquerque, New Mexico; Daytona Beach, Florida; Wilmington, Delaware; Virginia Beach, Virginia; and Prospect, Connecticut.

A Wells Fargo spokesperson said Tuesday that a "small number of employees within our community of more than 230,000" employees have voted for a union. The company values its connection with employees and will "continue to promote the benefits of direct engagement with our employees," the spokesperson said.

Joanne Cretella, a personal banker at the branch in Prospect, Connecticut, introduced a union-related proposal at Wells Fargo's annual shareholder meeting.

The proposal called for an outside party to "evaluate management interference when employees seek to form or join trade unions" and to report its results publicly. Shareholders voted against the measure, though a tally was not immediately available.

In her remarks, Cretella called out "anti-union propaganda" and pressure from management as employees at her branch were organizing a union. She also criticized lackluster wage growth and working conditions at branches.

"We are so understaffed that we are doing the work of two to three people," Cretella said. "Some branches don't even have a branch manager. This is not sustainable. We are stressed out."

Wells Fargo has settled complaints that managers in Beaverton, Oregon, and Salt Lake City, Utah, unlawfully interfered with employees' efforts to form unions. The National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency that facilitated those settlements, is investigating similar charges at a handful of other Wells Fargo locations.

In response to a question about the unionization push, Scharf said Wells Fargo has "numerous places inside the company where we seek out employee opinions, and they carry a substantial amount of weight."

"The voice of the employee inside the company is something that's very important to the management team," Scharf said.

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In prepared remarks, Scharf also said employees are "core to who we are" and laid out investments the company has made to support them. This year, Wells Fargo gave a $1,000 cash bonus to almost 100,000 U.S. employees if their annual salaries were below $75,000 and their total cash compensation was less than $85,000.

The bank has also raised wages for U.S. hourly employees by nearly 20% since 2019 and increased the average pay rate for bank tellers by 34%, Scharf said. Employees who participate in the company's 401(k) plan also get a dollar-for-dollar match for up to 6% of their compensation, and those who make less than $75,000 get an additional 1% contribution.

In addition, the company offers family-oriented benefits, wellness benefits and employee development programs, through which it has spent roughly $200 million annually.

Scharf also said the company listens to employee concerns through managers, town halls, a companywide feedback platform, its human resources team and a confidential ethics line where employees can report complaints and violations.

"Their voice matters," Scharf said. "We take their feedback seriously, and we act on their comments."