The National Labor Relations Board has dismissed an unfair labor practice charge accusing Wells Fargo of firing five employees who had promoted union efforts at the bank.
The NLRB found “insufficient evidence” to establish a violation of the National Labor Relations Act in regard to the displacement of members of the bank’s conduct management intake team, according to a letter seen by Banking Dive.
The team, which is responsible for intake, research and documentation of external and internal allegations pertaining to the company, voted to unionize in December 2024. Ahead of that vote, bank management allegedly discouraged workers from continuing their union campaign and laid off 11 workers, according to union representatives.
The Communications Workers of America, Wells Fargo Workers United’s parent organization, filed a ULP against the bank but withdrew it last year.
When the initial charges were filed, a representative for Wells said that the bank “regularly review[s] and adjust[s] staffing levels to align with market conditions and the needs of our businesses” and that the decision had “nothing to do with the union.”
No pending ULP charges remain in relation to the conduct management team. Some 16 ULP charges have been dismissed or withdrawn in the past 12 months, according to a Wells spokesperson.
However, the bank is facing at least one ULP, which was filed this month. Neither the bank nor union representatives provided information about the pending charge.
Union representatives have long accused the bank of union busting. Last summer, Stan Sherrill, Wells Fargo’s head of labor relations, allegedly visited branches with ongoing union campaigns and said disparaging things about the union. The visits had an air of “surveillance,” according to WFWU Organizations Director Nick Weiner, who had spoken directly with employees at these branches.
Several senators called attention to worker allegations in a September letter to Wells CEO Charlie Scharf.
Wells is the only major bank with a collective bargaining push. While more than two dozen branches have voted to unionize since December 2023, no location has yet ratified a contract.
Wells declined to comment further on the dismissed ULP charge. WFWU did not provide comment on the matter by press time.
