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The American Federation of Teachers said Thursday that it is cutting its financial ties with Wells Fargo as a result of the banking giant's relationships with the National Rifle Association and gunmakers.

The AFT, a 1.7 million-member national union, is dropping the bank as a recommended mortgage lender, to which it currently channels more than 20,000 AFT mortgages.

The decision came after Wells Fargo dismissed the union's request to cut lending ties with or impose new restrictions on firearms business partners following the mass shooting Feb. 14 that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.

After attempts were made by the teachers union to meet with bank executives over the matter to no avail, AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a statement, obtained by reporter Charles Lane for NPR:

Weingarten added that the national union has a responsibility to its members and their students who face potential gun violence every day.

Not all banks agree with the stance Wells Fargo is taking. As Charles reported for NPR's Newscast, "Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and others have limited their ties to the gun industry."

Wells Fargo's mortgage program had been a benefit promoted on the AFT website, and in 2017 roughly 1,600 union member families received mortgages from the bank.

While the San Francisco-based bank said it supports teachers and their families, in a statement obtained by NPR, it relinquishes responsibility to lawmakers:


The national teachers union has praised other companies including Bank of America, BlackRock and Vanguard for the steps they've taken in engaging in conversations and amending their affiliation with gun companies, which the 

 says Wells Fargo will not.
"It can be the bank for America's teachers, or it can be the bank for the NRA and gun manufacturers. But, given the NRA's refusal to even help mitigate gun violence, Wells Fargo can't be both," Weingarten said.  Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Politics and Government News

Stacey Samuel

Author

The American Federation of Teachers, the largest teacher's union in the country, says it's ending its relationship with Wells Fargo because the bank does business with the gun industry and the NRA.

National teacher's union cut ties with Wells Fargo over bank's ties to NRA, Guns

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