Big bank employee to CEO: Everyone here needs a raise

An employee at one of the nation's largest lenders sent an email to the CEO -- and about 200,000 others -- requesting a $10,000 raise for every employee

A Wells Fargo employee has asked for a raise – and he may deserve one just for sheer temerity.

Wells employee Tyrel Oates recently wrote an email to company CEO John Stumpf asking for a $10,000 raise – not only for himself, but for each of the bank’s 263,500 employees, according to a MarketWatch report. Oates copied about 200,000 Wells employees on the email.

“By doing this, Wells Fargo will not only help to make its people, its family, more productive, happy, and financially stable, it will also show the rest of the United States, if not the world that, yes big corporations can have a heart other than philanthropic endeavors,” Oates wrote.

Oates pointed out that Wells, the nation’s largest mortgage originator, has seen record profits, including $5.7 billion in the second quarter alone, and that Stumpf’s $19.3 million annual salary package was “more than most of the employees will see in our lifetimes.”

When news of Oates’ email hit the media, Wells Fargo responded with a prepared statement. “We provide market competitive compensation that combines base pay with a broad array of benefits and career-development opportunities for team members,” the bank said.

Oates’ current compensation is $15 per hour, according to MarketWatch. His pay was $13 per hour when he started at the bank nearly seven years ago. During the same period, Stumpf’s annual compensation has increased by 40%.