Wells Fargo (WFC) employees at its branch in Albuquerque, New Mexico, voted on Wednesday to join a union. In contrast, some other bank employees at the firm’s Bethel, Alaska, branch withdrew from the unionization campaign. Both of these events took place on Wednesday.

It was initially planned that elections would occur on Thursday at the Alaska branch; however, the union has announced that these elections have been changed.

According to Reuters, the information about the Alaska branch withdrawing their petition was initially revealed on Wednesday.

Amy Bonitatibus, chief communications officer for Wells Fargo, expressed her satisfaction with this development and pledged to uphold our employees’ rights to decide whether or not they want union representation. “We are pleased with this development.”

The organization known as the Committee for Better Bankers, which is assisting with the bank unionization push, as well as the branch workers, did not immediately explain the decision. According to Walker Sexton, a personal banker at the Bethel branch, “Our values have not changed, even though those of us at the Bethel branch have decided to withdraw our petition and hold off on moving forward with a union election at this time.” Sexton did not elaborate on his statement.

Sexton stated that “we believe change at Wells Fargo is overdue.”As a result of the unionization efforts that were carried out at the Albuquerque branch, Wells Fargo has become the first primary lender in the United States to have a unionized workforce.

According to the union, the employees at that branch voted to join the Wells Fargo Workers United (WFWU) organization, which is affiliated with the Communications Workers of America. The result was 5 to 3.

The vote is “a testament to workers in the financial services industry who know we need a collective voice to improve the industry we are integral to,” said Sabrina Perez, a senior premier banker at the Albuquerque office of Wells Fargo. “The vote stands as a testament to workers in the industry.”

Thanks to the vote, the lender in San Francisco has become the first central bank in the United States to have a union. This is a significant victory for such initiatives in an industry that has, for the most part, been resistant to them.

“We respect the rights of our employees to vote for union representation,” the company said. In the interim, Wells Fargo said that it sent Reuters via email, “We continue to believe that our employees are best served by engaging directly with the firm and its leadership.”

Unionization initiatives that have taken place in recent times have resulted in harsh confrontations between employees and business behemoths. As a result of lucrative agreements that unions like the United Auto Workers have negotiated, there has been an increase in support for unionization. These arrangements have earned record pay raises for employees.

The bank had emphasized various initiatives it had taken to address some of the concerns its employees raised in the vote. These efforts included boosting pay and benefits for staff who were paid less and increasing the median base salary.

Despite this, Wells Fargo’s Chief Executive Officer Charlie Scharf stated that the company would exercise its right “to speak with (the employees) to make sure they make an informed decision” when he was asked if the bank would maintain its neutrality during the unionization push during a hearing that took place earlier this month before the Senate Banking Committee.

According to two sources, workers at the Daytona Beach, Florida, branch and those working in Atwater, California, have already submitted their applications for union elections, which are anticipated to occur in January. Bloomberg News initially revealed the voting outcome at the Albuquerque branch.