Protesters Tie Up Lines at Wells Fargo Bank
A group protesting the refusal of a bank executive to meet with them kept tellers busy at a Studio City branch of Wells Fargo on Saturday, literally counting their pennies.
The protesters from Valley United in Community Efforts (VOICE) said they gathered at the bank to call attention to their unmet demand for a meeting with Wells Fargo Chief Executive Officer Paul Hazen.
The issue is a Wells Fargo pledge to commit $45 billion over 10 years to low-income housing, inner-city economic development and small-business loans.
Wells Fargo made the promise in late 1995, less than a month before public hearings on its merger with First Interstate Bank, a deal that closed on April 1.
The money will be spread over 13 Western states.
“They’ve promised 45 billion to the community and don’t want to discuss what they’re going to do with it,” said VOICE spokeswoman Cecilia Barragan.
A Wells Fargo spokeswoman responded that bank representatives had met with the group, but would not agree to demands for a separate agreement with VOICE that would give the group a say in where the money would go.
“We don’t do individual agreements with activist groups and we never have,” said spokeswoman Kathleen Shilkret.
At issue during the merger and now is bank service in minority communities.
“There’s no banks in minority communities,” complained Barragan, as she stood in a long line at the automatic teller machine. “We’re tying up the lines.”
Barragan said there is only one bank in Pacoima, none in Arleta. Residents fear the nearest First Interstate branches in Panorama City and San Fernando will close as a result of the merger, she said.
Inside the bank, about 40 people, many of them carrying plastic bags filled with coins, stood in line.
While he waited, Oscar Luna tore open roll after roll of pennies and dumped the contents into plastic bags.
He said he obtained the rolled pennies on his last pass through the line from the very tellers he would now ask to count the loose change.
“We get pennies from them, unroll them, get back in line and turn them in,” Luna said.
In addition to coin counting, the protesters completed other routine bank transactions-- opening new accounts, asking about money orders and withdrawing cash from the ATM.
The bank responded to being inundated with customers and coins with a “killing them by kindness” strategy.
Knowing in advance of the protest, extra tellers were on duty, eight at one count, compared, protesters said, with a skeleton crew of tellers last Saturday. Regular customers were also diverted to other nearby branches.
A similar demonstration was held last month in another part of Los Angeles, and protesters said there are organizations up and down California ready to do the same.
