Three bank branches at
Wells Fargo employees at an Apex, N.C., branch in March voted 5-2 to decertify, and the union voluntarily disclaimed interest in a Spring Hill, Fla., branch that was set to do the same last week, according to a National Labor Relations Board order.
A third branch in Casper, Wyo., was set for a decertification vote, but the union moved March 30 to block it while the NLRB reviews an unfair labor practice claim alleging Wells Fargo fired a banker for his organizing efforts.
Two of those branches are represented by the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1968 to counter labor unions.
Nearly 30 of Wells Fargo’s more than 4,000 branches and one group of nonbranch employees previously voted to join the Communications Workers of America’s Wells Fargo Workers United.
Messaging Contrast
Union leaders say stalled contract talks and anti-union messaging from Wells Fargo are having an effect on some bankers who had voted to unionize. Those efforts from management are meant to discourage the union drive, they say.
“There are bound to be folks that fall victim to the messages that are coming from the company and its consultants,” said Sabrina Perez, a senior premier banker at an Albuquerque, N.M., branch who has been involved in contract negotiations.
Perez’s branch was the first to vote for union representation in December 2023.
Wells Fargo said it hasn’t been involved in efforts to decertify union elections, which would be a violation of federal labor laws.
“We’re pleased our employees are able to exercise their voice regarding union representation,” Wells Fargo said in a statement. “We are committed to maintaining a culture where all employees continue to feel supported, valued and heard.”
The Washington-Baltimore News Guild, which is affiliated with the CWA, represents employees of Bloomberg Law.
Outside Help
Workers at the Apex branch moved on their own to decertify the union. But employees at the Spring Hill and Casper branches sought out representation from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, according to Patrick Semmens, the organization’s vice president for public information.
The group declined to make any employees at the branches available for comment.
“If nothing else, for a lot of employees, it at least brings it to their attention,” Semmens said.
No other branches have reached out so far to discuss decertifying their union representation votes, Semmens said.
Slim Opening
Workers have a limited window to decertify their union representation, according to Anne Lofaso, a labor law professor at the University of Cincinnati and a former top NLRB attorney.
A union certification vote can’t be challenged for one year to give workers time to negotiate their first contract. Decertification votes are barred for three years once the contract is in place, she said.
“After those three years, you go from a presidential system to a parliamentary system where you can have a vote of no-confidence,” Lofaso said.
Decertification votes aren’t common, but they aren’t unheard of in labor law, she added.
“If you’re not able to get a contract, then people can be frustrated,” Lofaso said.
The NLRB received just under 300 petitions to decertify a union out of around 2,500 overall union vote petitions—including certification votes from workers and employers and clarifications of membership—in 2025, according to a review of agency records by Bloomberg Law.
Another factor that can lead to decertification is workplace turnover. That apparently played a role in both the Casper and Spring Hill branches, according to people with knowledge of the workforce changes who requested anonymity to discuss union matters.
Employee churn could make it easier for union opponents to mount decertification campaigns, said Glenn Taubman, a NRWLDF staff attorney who represented the Spring Hill branch employees.
“It seems like banking is one of those industries that has a fair amount of turnover,” he said.
Around half of the foundation’s legal work each year involves representing workers seeking to decertify their unions, Semmens said.
Smaller Units
Wells Fargo is “paying extra attention to any branches that may have had more turnover than other branches,” Perez said.
But the bank can’t transfer people to a new branch to boost union opposition, Lofaso said.
Decertification may come more easily at smaller branches. All three branches that moved to decertify had fewer than 10 nonmanagerial employees, according to NLRB records.
“The smaller the unit the easier it is to unionize, so I imagine the reverse is true,” Lofaso said.
Despite the recent decertifications, Perez remains confident that more Wells Fargo branches and employees at other banks will vote to join the union as contract talks continue.
“They wouldn’t need the propaganda if there was no hope,” she said.
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