JPMorgan Chase workers launch petition to halt 5 day back-to-office rule

To further their campaign, a group of JPMorgan Chase employees, who called themselves the “JPMC Workers,” have launched a publicly visible petition that went live on Feb. 9. Their petition, addressed to Dimon, calls for better working conditions for all JPM employees, and makes a case for staying with the bank’s hybrid-work model.

Working full-time in an office used to be the norm six years ago, but that changed with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, according to the petition. Many companies, including JPMorgan Chase, shifted to a hybrid-work model, which the workers say led to reduced costs, enhanced morale, and strengthened employee retention. The petition also notes that JPMorgan Chase, using this hybrid model, has reported successive years of profit. In January, the bank said it produced $58.5 billion in net income for its fiscal year 2024, up 18% from 2023’s $49.6 billion, which was a record that year.

“It was uncomfortable, but we learned and adapted. So must leadership,” the workers said of the switch to hybrid, according to the petition.

On January 10, JPMorgan Chase set off a firestorm when the bank informed employees that all staff would be required to return to the office five days a week. Roughly 40% of JPMorgan Chase’s employees are currently on a hybrid schedule, where they are in the office three days a week. Last month, the bank began informing most of those employees they must be in office full time starting on March 3 or March 10, Fortune reported. Some bank locations are getting more time to comply with the RTO, including JPMorgan Chase’s Polaris regional headquarters in Ohio, which houses more than 12,000 employees, and was still listed Tuesday as “not yet determined.”

The petition calls for the bank to retain or return to the hybrid model for those job categories that have used it and invest resources to allow more workers to experience the flexibility of hybrid. It also asks JPMorgan Chase to permit remote employees to work from any bank corporate office in their region.

“The recent mandate for 100% in-office work is a great leap backward: It hurts employees, customers, shareholders, and the firm’s reputation. From a corporate-citizenship perspective, it worsens traffic and pollution while disproportionately pushing out women, caregivers, senior employees, and individuals with disabilities,” the JPMC workers say in the petition. 

JPMorgan Chase declined to comment on the petition.

No perks

The nation’s biggest bank is expected to finish its new global headquarters in Manhattan this summer. JPMorgan Chase reportedly spent $3 billion on the 1,388-foot, 60-story all-electric skyscraper that will house up to 14,000 employees and was designed to lure back reluctant workers. Earlier this month, Fortune visited these JPMorgan offices that are located at 270 Park Avenue. The building features bigger windows, more air and lighting backed by smart tech that can replicate a worker’s circadian rhythm. There’s also a 19-restaurant food court where workers can visit or have meals delivered straight to their desk; an Irish pub is in the building; and physical therapy, yoga, and meditation classes are available to employees.

Most JPMorgan Chase employees, however, are not assigned to the new headquarters and can’t access these perks, the petition says. What they do get are bank corporate offices that are often crowded, noisy, and uncomfortable, according to the petition. JPM offices also use first-come, first-serve seating that the workers claim makes it impractical to even use a preferred keyboard or mouse.  

“The whole ordeal has left us rank-and-file employees feeling betrayed and devalued,” the petition said. 

Some employees were unsure whether the JPMC petition was real and worried that the bank was trying to identify its internal critics. “What if it’s the company behind these, just looking for names?” one worker, who declined to speak on the record for fear of retaliation, told Fortune. 

This fear may explain why the petition had only 225 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon. “[The petition] needs to get marketing. I don’t see anyone being willing to post that on LinkedIn,” the employee said.

Fortune has independently verified that JPMorgan is not behind the petition site. The petition includes a box that those who sign can check to say they work at JPMorgan, but does not appear to have a way to verify this is the case. It also displays the number of signatures, and the first name and last initial of those who sign.

Seeking a union

News of the petition comes as JPMorgan Chase is facing a unionization push among some employees. Last month, Fortune reported that roughly a dozen JPM employees, representing groups from different areas of the bank all over the U.S., have contacted the CWA. The CWA helped organize Wells Fargo workers at an Albuquerque branch where they voted to join the labor union in late 2023, a first in the banking industry. Roughly 25 Wells Fargo branches, including a group of conduct management investigators, have since unionized with the CWA.

The number of JPMorgan Chase employees in contact with the CWA has doubled, according to Nick Weiner, a CWA organizer. The bank workers are organizing, mapping out the workplaces and different departments, and continuing to reach out to more employees. A couple hundred JPMorgan Chase employees have also formed chat groups on Signal, Weiner said. “There are a lot of tactical and strategic questions that they have to figure out. We have been advising them,” he said.

Forming a union is painstaking work and can take much time, Weiner said: For example, Wells Fargo employee’s spent a couple years planning and organizing before holding their first election in December 2023.

“It’s going to be a long, long grind,” said a second JPMorgan Chase employee, who also declined to speak on the record, and supports the unionization push.