{"id":29414,"date":"2024-03-06T06:00:08","date_gmt":"2024-03-06T12:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/?p=29414"},"modified":"2024-03-19T10:06:11","modified_gmt":"2024-03-19T15:06:11","slug":"seven-tips-for-community-banks-to-prepare-for-union-organizing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/seven-tips-for-community-banks-to-prepare-for-union-organizing\/","title":{"rendered":"Seven tips for community banks to prepare for union organizing"},"content":{"rendered":"

As unions aim to organize new industries, financial institutions have not been immune.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2022, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) won an union election at Genesee Co-Op in Rochester, New York \u2014 the first credit union to organize in decades. Shortly after, Lake Michigan Credit Union followed suit. Then, the CWA managed to garner enough support from employees at Wells Fargo\u2019s retail branches to file six union representation petitions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In December 2023, Wells Fargo bankers, tellers, and bank coordinators voted \u201cyes\u201d to the union, making it the first retail bank with a bargaining unit in over 40 years. Once a roughly untouched industry in the organizing realm has now become a wealth of untapped potential.<\/span><\/p>\n

Community banks need to stay alert.<\/span> Companies that once believed they were immune to organizing now endure the consequences (Starbucks, for example). What do you in the banking industry need to be aware of as the organizing wave makes its way to your doorstep?<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Amber
Amber Rogers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Unions will seek out community banks<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2014, workers banded together to create the Committee for Better Banks, a worker coalition partnered with the CWA to address the post-2008 strains on the financial industry. The group caught traction in 2019 when they began discussions with Beneficial State Bank to form a union that the bank voluntarily recognized a few months later. Beginning on November 20, 2023, the CWA continued their momentum by filing their first petition at Wells Fargo. Following the win, Nick Weiner, the organizing director for the Committee for Better Banks, reported to <\/span>Bloomberg<\/span><\/i> that organizing efforts at banks and community banks are \u201cgoing to build and build, and the momentum is incredible.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Your employees may seem satisfied, but that will not stop unions from persuading <\/span>them they need their services \u2014 an effort with a fair amount of success thus far.<\/span><\/p>\n

Smaller groups are more susceptible to organizing<\/b><\/p>\n

\"Rachel
Rachel Roney<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Close quarters means close relationships. If one teller feels wronged by their supervisor, it is only a matter of time before their co-workers whom they talk to and work next to every day become aware and commiserate over the perceived unfairness. Compare this to a group of 1,200 warehouse workers who work over multiple different shifts. It is substantially easier (and quicker) to organize smaller employers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Proactive management is the key to success<\/b><\/p>\n

It is imperative to prepare management to proactively engage, listen and respond to employees\u2019 needs. Such engagement reduces the risk of unionization being attractive to your employees. If your managers can answer basic questions about unions, even better!<\/span><\/p>\n

Better wages won\u2019t cut it<\/b><\/p>\n

The modern worker demands more than more money, better benefits and reasonable working hours. Lately, employee \u201cactivism\u201d in the workplace is on the rise. Employees expect companies to follow ethical practices and respond to social justice issues. This is particularly prevalent in the banking industry where the 2008 financial crisis and reports of fraudulent activity caused ethical unrest amongst workers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Union or no union \u2014 community banks need to play by the rules<\/b><\/p>\n

The National Labor Relations Act applies to all employers, not just those with a union. The NLRA provides all employees the right to form, join, or assist a labor union, to bargain collectively, and to engage in \u201cprotected concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection,\u201d as well as the right to refrain from those activities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, if you do not have a union at your community bank, your employees still have the right to discuss their wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment without fear of retaliation. This also includes the right to talk about the union without fear of reprisal. It is important not to make the mistake of believing your community bank is immune to issues typically only associated with unionized employers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Union elections move fast<\/b><\/p>\n

The NLRB recently re-instituted \u201cquickie election rules\u201d to effectuate \u201cexpeditious resolution\u201d of union petitions, meaning once the union files a petition, you likely have 21 days until an election. If you failed to prepare management to lead during an election, you will have (at best) 21 days to adequately prepare for potential hearing and train management on how to legally field union-related questions, communicate with employees, and convince them of the community bank\u2019s position.<\/span><\/p>\n

Train management early and you will save yourself valuable time when it counts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Election aftermath is a long, winding, costly road<\/b><\/p>\n

Consider the numbers. This process does not end with the election. If the union prevails, the community bank will have to bargain in good faith for a collective bargaining agreement. According to Bloomberg<\/em>\u2019s most recent data, it takes \u2014 on average \u2014 465 days to come to a first CBA. Over 53 percent of negotiations take longer than one year \u2014 14 percent taking three years or more. Even if the union does not prevail, they will likely challenge the results, sending the community bank down another winding road of litigation that can last years.<\/span><\/p>\n

As the interest in unions and the emergence of \u201chomegrown\u201d unions continues to increase, it is very likely that community banks will become more of a target. Thus, it is critical that human resource professionals and managers\/supervisors be prepared for an organizing campaign to land on their doorstep.<\/span><\/p>\n

Amber M. Rogers is a partner in the Labor and Employment group at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, Dallas office. She can be reached at arogers@huntonak.com. Rachel Roney is an associate in the Labor and Employment group at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, Dallas office. She can be reached at rroney@huntonak.com.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As unions aim to organize new industries, financial institutions have not been immune. [Continue] <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":409,"featured_media":29417,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"generate_page_header":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[363],"tags":[54,380],"yoast_head":"\nSeven tips for community banks to prepare for union organizing - BankBeat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/seven-tips-for-community-banks-to-prepare-for-union-organizing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Seven tips for community banks to prepare for union organizing - BankBeat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As unions aim to organize new industries, financial institutions have not been immune. [Continue]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/seven-tips-for-community-banks-to-prepare-for-union-organizing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"BankBeat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-03-06T12:00:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-03-19T15:06:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/handshake-image.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1260\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sam Wilmes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@bankbeat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@bankbeat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sam Wilmes\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/seven-tips-for-community-banks-to-prepare-for-union-organizing\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/seven-tips-for-community-banks-to-prepare-for-union-organizing\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sam Wilmes\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#\/schema\/person\/87f08247e66c77528f6b364ab3fa8288\"},\"headline\":\"Seven tips for community banks to prepare for union organizing\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-06T12:00:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-03-19T15:06:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/seven-tips-for-community-banks-to-prepare-for-union-organizing\/\"},\"wordCount\":943,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/seven-tips-for-community-banks-to-prepare-for-union-organizing\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/handshake-image.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Editor's Picks\",\"More News\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Hiring & Retention\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/seven-tips-for-community-banks-to-prepare-for-union-organizing\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/seven-tips-for-community-banks-to-prepare-for-union-organizing\/\",\"name\":\"Seven tips for community banks to prepare for union organizing - BankBeat\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/seven-tips-for-community-banks-to-prepare-for-union-organizing\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/seven-tips-for-community-banks-to-prepare-for-union-organizing\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/handshake-image.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-06T12:00:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-03-19T15:06:11+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/seven-tips-for-community-banks-to-prepare-for-union-organizing\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/seven-tips-for-community-banks-to-prepare-for-union-organizing\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/seven-tips-for-community-banks-to-prepare-for-union-organizing\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/handshake-image.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/handshake-image.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1260,\"caption\":\"Three businessmen in agreement\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/seven-tips-for-community-banks-to-prepare-for-union-organizing\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Seven tips for community banks to prepare for union organizing\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/\",\"name\":\"BankBeat\",\"description\":\"A Service of NFR Communications\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#organization\",\"name\":\"BankBeat\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/fb-share-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/fb-share-logo.jpg\",\"width\":476,\"height\":249,\"caption\":\"BankBeat\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/bankbeat\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#\/schema\/person\/87f08247e66c77528f6b364ab3fa8288\",\"name\":\"Sam Wilmes\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c5a6bcc2d5ea851040879c2ddc27e4ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c5a6bcc2d5ea851040879c2ddc27e4ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sam Wilmes\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Seven tips for community banks to prepare for union organizing - BankBeat","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/seven-tips-for-community-banks-to-prepare-for-union-organizing\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Seven tips for community banks to prepare for union organizing - BankBeat","og_description":"As unions aim to organize new industries, financial institutions have not been immune. [Continue]","og_url":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/seven-tips-for-community-banks-to-prepare-for-union-organizing\/","og_site_name":"BankBeat","article_published_time":"2024-03-06T12:00:08+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-03-19T15:06:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1260,"url":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/handshake-image.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Sam Wilmes","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@bankbeat","twitter_site":"@bankbeat","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sam Wilmes","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/seven-tips-for-community-banks-to-prepare-for-union-organizing\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/seven-tips-for-community-banks-to-prepare-for-union-organizing\/"},"author":{"name":"Sam Wilmes","@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#\/schema\/person\/87f08247e66c77528f6b364ab3fa8288"},"headline":"Seven tips for community banks to prepare for union organizing","datePublished":"2024-03-06T12:00:08+00:00","dateModified":"2024-03-19T15:06:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/seven-tips-for-community-banks-to-prepare-for-union-organizing\/"},"wordCount":943,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/seven-tips-for-community-banks-to-prepare-for-union-organizing\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/handshake-image.jpg","keywords":["Editor's Picks","More News"],"articleSection":["Hiring & Retention"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/seven-tips-for-community-banks-to-prepare-for-union-organizing\/","url":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/seven-tips-for-community-banks-to-prepare-for-union-organizing\/","name":"Seven tips for community banks to prepare for union organizing - BankBeat","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/seven-tips-for-community-banks-to-prepare-for-union-organizing\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/seven-tips-for-community-banks-to-prepare-for-union-organizing\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/handshake-image.jpg","datePublished":"2024-03-06T12:00:08+00:00","dateModified":"2024-03-19T15:06:11+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/seven-tips-for-community-banks-to-prepare-for-union-organizing\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/seven-tips-for-community-banks-to-prepare-for-union-organizing\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/seven-tips-for-community-banks-to-prepare-for-union-organizing\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/handshake-image.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/handshake-image.jpg","width":1920,"height":1260,"caption":"Three businessmen in agreement"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/seven-tips-for-community-banks-to-prepare-for-union-organizing\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Seven tips for community banks to prepare for union organizing"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/","name":"BankBeat","description":"A Service of NFR Communications","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#organization","name":"BankBeat","url":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/fb-share-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/fb-share-logo.jpg","width":476,"height":249,"caption":"BankBeat"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/bankbeat"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#\/schema\/person\/87f08247e66c77528f6b364ab3fa8288","name":"Sam Wilmes","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c5a6bcc2d5ea851040879c2ddc27e4ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c5a6bcc2d5ea851040879c2ddc27e4ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Sam Wilmes"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29414"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/409"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29414"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29414\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29418,"href":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29414\/revisions\/29418"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}