Chairman, CEO and President

March 20, 2009

Kenneth Lewis

101 N Tryon St.

Charlotte, NC28255

Dear Mr. Lewis:

As you may know, employees of the Bank of America have been in discussions with the Service Employees International Union about how bank workers can come together to improve their jobs and their industry.

The issues they have brought to us include:

Uncompensated work time: Bank of America employees report that the bank may not be paying them for the all the work that they do.
Expensive health benefits: Health insurance for a single person can cost close to ten percent of an individual’s pay, and family coverage is even more unaffordable. Some Bank of America employees tell us that they must rely on public assistance to provide health care for themselves and their families.
Other issues include low pay (relative to both what other banks pay and standards such as the federal poverty line), a lack of clarity about how raises and promotions are received, and the lack of opportunities for advancement.

Bank of America employees work hard every day to repair the financial condition of their company, restore its integrity in the marketplace and rebuild the confidence of customers in the bank’s products  but management practices are making that very difficult. The excessive bonuses to Merrill Lynch executives, your growing reliance on TARP funds, the use of public monies to lobby against legislation that is in the public interest, and the loss of investor confidence in Bank of America stock are distressing to the employees.

Workers at Bank of America tell us that they are particularly concerned about alleged practices that are potentially harmful to customers and the economy. These practices parallel the writing of home mortgages to unqualified buyers, which, as you know, has played a major role in our current economic crisis. These issues include:

Pressure to sell products, such as checking accounts or credit cards, to customers who do not want them. Bank employees tell us that they feel that if they do not meet their sales quotas, their jobs will be in jeopardy.
Pressure to target low income minorities with products that produce fees and charges.
Practices and products that can trap customers into paying excessive fees, such as the structuring of transactions on debit cards and the clearing of checks in ways that trigger multiple overdraft fees.

Employees tell us that Bank of America has responded to their initial efforts to improve conditions and services by taking time out of the workday to tell themthat Bank of America doesnot want them to have a union.Bank managers have also told them that the bank has initiated a system of surveillance that includes the computer-monitoring of employees. I can imagine that some of your employees now fear they will lose their jobs should they persist in any efforts or discussions about trying to improve employment conditions and services for consumers.

A bank that has received $45 billion in federal TARP money and billions more in guarantees should not use bank employees’ own tax dollars against them in a campaign to thwart their exercise of rights guaranteed by federal law.

Bank employees also report a severe lack of communication within the company. They hear about plans of mass lay-offs through the media, not through their supervisors. They have no way to understand fully what is happening to their jobs and no effective way to speak out about their concerns. But when they begin to talk about how to come together to address these concerns, Bank of America cracks down on them in a very intimidating fashion.

Mr. Lewis, you have an employment contract that you negotiated with Bank of America. Your employees, should they decide they wish to form a union and bargain for a contract, deserve no less.

At a time when Americans so desperately need paychecks that can support a family, health care they can afford, and banking practices that serve them rather than trap them, it is more important than ever that you respect the rights of your employees and allow them to speak out about questionable business practices and the terms and conditions of their employment.

In order to address the issues and problems that Bank of America employees are raising with us, there are a number of questions I’d like to discuss with you:

How many Bank of America employees rely on public health care? How many go without? Who decides, and on what basis, how much to charge employees for health insurance? With whom can we meet to discuss how we make health insurance more affordable for Bank of America employees?
Does Bank of America have plans to relieve governments from having to provide health insurance for Bank of America employees?
Some employees tell us they are without health insurance because they do not know when they are able to register for it. When and how can employees sign up for health insurance? Why are there barriers to doing so? With whom can we meet to resolve this difficulty, and how do we ensure that employees do not miss important benefits because the Bank does not inform them of how to apply for them?
With whom should we meet with to discuss uncompensated work time issues?
Is it true that Bank of America targets low-income minorities and others for products that contain many hidden fees?
Is it true that Bank of America employees must push various financial products to keep their jobs?
Bank of America employees have told us they are afraid to organize for better work conditions because they fear they will get into trouble and possibly lose their jobs. With whom can we meet to affirm that Bank of America respects its employees have a right to organize without fear of intimidation or harassment?
How do we reach an agreement as to when and where employees can meet to discuss organizing?

I will contact you to set up such a meeting.

Sincerely,

Stephen Lerner

Assistant to the President on North American Strategies