A Wells Fargo employee took a different approach than most in asking for a raise. Instead of talking to a supervisor or human resources, Tyrel Oates sent an email straight to the CEO.
The email was also sent to 200,000 of Oates' co-employees and asks for a $10,000 raise for everyone in the company.
"Wells Fargo has an opportunity to be at the forefront ... showing the other large corporations that it is very possible to maintain a profitable company that not only looks out for its consumers and shareholders, but its employees as well," wrote Oates in his letter, which was also posted to Reddit.
He said Wells Fargo could benefit from the positive publicity during a time where banks' credibility is questioned. While Oates does note that the pay and benefits for employees is quite good, the gap between most employees and upper management is quite large.
"There are many of us out there who come to work every day and give it our all, yet, we struggle to make ends meet while our peers in upper management and company executives reap the majority of the rewards," said Oates.
CEO John Stumpf currently makes 473 times more than the median salary of Wells Fargo employees. He earned a total $19.3 million last year.
The letter should speak to Stumpf, who came from humble beginnings. Growing up on a dairy farm in Minnesota, Stumpf did not get very good grades in high school and certainly did not have very much money. Eventually he landed a job at First Bank in St. Paul as a repossession agent.
Wells Fargo has a net income of around $5.7 billion in the second quarter alone and the pay increases outlined in the letter certainly are within the banks' reach.
"My proposal is take $3 billion dollars, just a small fraction of what Wells Fargo pulls in annually, and raise every employees annual salary by $10,000 dollars. This equates to an hourly raise about $4.71 per hour. Think, as well, of the positive publicity in a time of extreme consumer skepticism towards banks," continued Oates in his letter.
Oates later said that he got a number of emails and phone calls from co-workers, praising and thanking him for the letter. He also mentioned that he has no fears of losing his job and is still employed at the company. Despite this, Stumpf has reportedly not responded to his letter.
"We provide market-competitive compensation that combines base pay with a broad array of benefits and career-development opportunities for team members," said Wells Fargo in a statement. "Team members receive an annual performance and salary review. And all of our team members' compensation levels significantly exceed federal minimums."
