For years, National Association of Mortgage Field Services (NAMFS) members have serviced Bank of America’s (BofA) distressed asset portfolio. And while BofA has continued to raise the minimum wage for their employees — now at $21 an hour — NAMFS members have continued to pay $3 per inspection. In fact, since taking the reins in 2011 as NAMFS Executive Director, Eric Miller has received nearly $40,000 in yearly salary increases. As of the FY2019 IRS 990 tax return submitted by NAMFS, Miller is paid $138,107 per year plus fringe, travel and other benefits. All the while both NAMFS membership rolls and monies from their annual conference have plummeted under his leadership. By way of comparison, NAMFS members have demanded more and more financial and administrative compensation — paying for their own background checks, unneeded workman’s comp for sole proprietors, etc. — from their misclassified employees.
Bank of America is now paying its U.S. workforce at least $21 an hour — or nearly three times the federal minimum wage of $7.25, which has not budged in a dozen years even though a majority of Americans support an increase. The pay hike announced by the nation’s second-biggest bank on Wednesday follows BofA’s May pledge to pay its workers a minimum hourly wage of $25 by 2025. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based lender is also requiring its U.S. vendors pay their workers who are dedicated to the bank’s business at least $15 an hour.
JPMorgan Chase, the biggest U.S. bank, pays a minimum of $16.50 to $20 an hour, depending on an area’s cost of living. Wells Fargo pays its workers between $15 and $20.
Adding fuel to the fire of discontent in the Industry are the upcoming requirements to obtain a COVID vaccination as well as document accordingly. Time and again NAMFS members have forced unfunded mandates upon the shoulders of Labor while pocketing the profits. It is probably the reason why, time and again, the federal judiciary has presided over tens of millions of dollars in settlements pertaining to misclassified employees.
