When any group of workers attempts to unionize their workplace, it is generally because something (or things!) has gone wrong in that workplace.
Unionizing is a long and arduous process. In order to succeed in that process, the workers involved need to really want to change things. In today's world, as we are still recovering from (and, to a surprising extent, still living through) the COVID-19 pandemic and experiencing a tight labor market, these signs of worker dissatisfaction need to be taken seriously by managers, in financial service firms just as elsewhere in the economy.
All too often, companies view unions purely as a threat to their bottom lines. In this view, unionization will lead to higher wages, thereby threatening firm existence. This is the wrong approach to take. If the firm listens to the issues voiced by unionizing employees, they will find that their workers are most likely raising all sorts of non-financial issues.
In the early and mid-1950s, over a third of all private sector workers in the U.S. belonged to unions. This meant that virtually every American knew at least one person who belonged to a union. If a person had questions about unionization, they could turn to someone they knew who would tell them what types of benefits unions could provide.
The rate of unionization in this country has dropped over the intervening years. Last year, just 6.8% of private-sector workers were represented by a union, according to the Economic Policy Institute. This was 11.3% for all workers, including those who worked for public entities.
Because of this decline, fewer people have any type of first-hand (or even, second-hand) knowledge of unions and their contracts. In the absence of this general public knowledge, only the most basic issue addressed by unionization — the raising of wage rates — remains in the public mind.
Despite this prevalent stereotype, though, a union contract can address many other non-financial issues raised by concerned workers.
Are employees nervous about working alone at times in small branch offices? That has been one concern raised by recent efforts of employees in the credit union industry to unionize. A union can help negotiate staffing level requirements at the firm.
Did employees feel they were left out of decisions about masking requirements during the pandemic? Stop and think about how those decisions impacted front-line employees whose jobs required them to interact with members of the public for hours a day. Health and safety issues like this can also be included in union negotiations and contracts. Perhaps workers, especially if they worked from their homes during the pandemic, need assurances that the company will be flexible when family demands and needs arise.
Again, the negotiation of a union contract can explain how such needs will be addressed. Promotion processes, disciplinary issues, fairness in layoffs and terminations — all of these topics can also be addressed in a union contract.
The process of sitting down with both managers' and employees' representatives often reveals previously unrecognized problems in the workplace. Reaching an agreement on how to handle these problems improves workers' situations and, often, their attitudes about their jobs. The workplace becomes a better place for both the firm's employees and their customers.
Financial services firms should therefore view employee unionization attempts as opportunities for positive change. Given the issues many firms today face in attracting and retaining employees, worker unionizing should be viewed as an appropriate way to demonstrate a firm's commitment to its employees and its customer community.
