More than 100 workers at a Tom Steyer-founded bank have won collective bargaining rights in an industry with the lowest unionization rates in the country.
NEW YORK/WASHINGTON April 9 (Reuters) - The day after former Wells Fargo & Co Chief Executive Tim Sloan told U.S. lawmakers he was transforming the bank’s high-pressure culture, Federal Reserve officials met privately with bank employees.
At the meeting on March 13, which has not been previously reported, Fed officials were told by four bank employees that little had changed within the bank’s culture since the scandal that engulfed Wells Fargo almost three years ago.
A day before he was to appear at a congressional hearing focused on the biggest banks in the United States, Bank of America’s chief executive, Brian Moynihan, said on Tuesday that the bank planned to raise its minimum wage to $20 an hour from $15 over the next two years.
It was another example of how big banks are trying to deal with shifting political winds in Washington, where they face new scrutiny under the Democrats, who now control the House of Representatives.
Refusing to back down after CEO Tim Sloan “snub” at U.S. House of Representatives hearing, hundreds of bank workers, CWA union members and community allies marched through downtown Minneapolis and descended upon Wells Fargo’s offices to deliver (again) a petition signed by over 19 thousand bank employees and customers demanding the bank’s workers be treated with respect and meet with the CBB in order to fix entrenched abusive conditions detailed in recent news reports.
Wells Fargo & Co.’s embattled chief executive, Tim Sloan — who has struggled to get the giant San Francisco bank past a seemingly endless series of customer abuse scandals — retired suddenly Thursday.
He stepped down as CEO, president and board member effective immediately, with his retirement taking effect June 30, Wells Fargo said.
In an effort to help bank regulators meet their responsibilities of oversight, Wells Fargo employees met with Federal Reserve officials including two Fed Governors to provide information about their working conditions that could impact customers. This was probably a first-of-its-kind meeting and demonstrated the importance of making sure frontline bank workers voices are heard when regulators are trying to make sure megabanks like Wells Fargo act responsibly for both workers and customers.
Rep. Maxine Waters on Thursday called for the firing of Wells Fargo & Co. Chief Executive Tim Sloan after the bank reported his pay increased last year by nearly $1 million despite continued consumer scandals.
To ensure politicians and regulators hear the truth about the bank’s working conditions, the Committee for Better Banks released a report, “The Wheels are still off at Wells Fargo” and spoke out about demoralizing working conditions.
