Solidarity wins against Chase

SEATTLE SOLIDARITY Network member Neftali walked out of a Chase Bank in downtown Seattle on Thursday with a check for $1,000 in his hands.

This is something that, in and of itself, is not unusual. He is a Chase customer. Plenty of customers walk out of Chase banks with money. But this was not just any check. This was a check issued by the bank to correct an error that it had made months ago--and he got that money because Seattle Solidarity Network (SeaSol for short) helped him fight Chase.

A long-time member of SeaSol, Neftali, was converting $3,000 out of his major corporate bank account into Canadian dollars. He presented his valid temporary license along with his expired photo ID during the initial transaction, and it was sufficient and accepted by the teller.

When the money was ready and he returned to pick it up, the assistant manager hassled him again and again regarding his form of ID and said that he needed a U.S. passport, seemingly insinuating he did not have legal immigration status. After he complained to the manager, they let him use his card and PIN as a form of ID--which is standard procedure at Chase. The teller opened the envelope and gave him $1,785, when he was supposed to receive $2,785.

He did not realize they shorted him at first and went on his vacation after leaving the bank, flustered about the entire interaction. When he got back to the States, he realized that they had shorted him $1,000 after looking at his transaction receipt. He confronted the assistant manager, explaining that he thought they probably only forgot the extra 10 $100 bills in the envelope which was mistakenly not given to him--and wanted them to check the video.

She wouldn't believe him and refused to let him watch the video of the teller counting the money. She did, however, admit that the teller broke policy by opening the envelope and not directly handing him it.

Once he realized he was not going to get anywhere by dealing directly with the bank, he brought the issue to the attention of SeaSol. After discussion and research, the group decided to take on the fight.

On May 31, we delivered a demand letter with about 30 people to the manager of the Chase branch where the transaction occurred. This demand was very simple--show us the tape of the teller transaction or give our member his money. We gave them two weeks to do one or the other, and if not, further action would be taken.

To no one's surprise, Chase did not meet our deadline. So we began a campaign of direct action tactics, starting with postering around the branch. At first, we just put up posters about the fight and Chase, and then we moved on to using the bank manager's name.

We held several pickets, including two roving pickets marching to several branches in the downtown Seattle area and handing our fliers to people passing by.

Through sheer persistence and the use of several direct-action tactics, our member was contacted by Chase with a message that they would like to meet with him and settle this matter. On Thursday, September 8, he went into the branch with two SeaSol members and was given a cashier's check for $1,000.

Victory!

I've only been working with SeaSol for about four months, but I am so impressed by the dedication, perseverance and complete willingness to stand up and fight despite the odds for people who might otherwise walk away from a righteous fight.

Solidarity for the win--because an injury to one is an injury to all.

First published at Daily Kos.