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from the better-compensated-workers-makes-many-people-happy dept.
The Center for American Progress reports:
In August, New York-based Amalgamated Bank announced it would immediately raise its minimum pay to at least $15 an hour.
The bank, which is owned by the union OPEIU (Office and Professional Employees International Union), came to the $15 wage floor in the midst of contract negotiations with the union. The contract also specifies automatic 3 percent increases each year.
[...] "Morale in our bank is just great after this" [said CEO Keith Mestrich.] He's even heard from potential customers who say they have sought out the bank after the announcement.
[...] But the bank isn't satisfied to make its own changes. It also wants to change the industry. A recent report from the National Employment Law Project (NELP) found that bank tellers, the most common job in the financial services industry, make a median wage of just $12.44 an hour; and three-quarters make below $15. That means that about a third of bank tellers rely on some kind of public [assistance], such as Medicaid, food stamps, or the Earned Income Tax Credit, to get by. Many who work in customer service, maintenance, protective service, and production also make below that wage.
[...] Amalgamated has launched a campaign to get a $15 minimum wage--a level that has already been passed in cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle--and encourage all other banks to adopt one in their own businesses. It also recently sent a letter to other banks urging them to adopt other practices that it calls "principles of responsible banking" such as ending the intense opposition to regulation, advocating for policies that would help customers, and embracing corporate transparency.
I hope you have your bloat blockers engaged before clicking the links to the bank's site.
(Score: 3, Informative) by bziman on Friday November 13 2015, @07:27PM
I haven't used an ATM in over a year. I actually like the social interaction of walking into a bank and talking to a real live human being. My bank has convenient branches and hours, and I've never had to wait in line, except maybe for a minute on a Friday afternoon or Saturday morning when they're really busy.
Even in the United States, there are many businesses that still write or require checks, often so they don't have to pay the transaction fees for ACH debits or credit card processing. And of course, cash will always be king.