Wall Street Labor Alliance (WSLA): Worker Deaths, Long Hours, Misleading Bonus. Time to unionize IB!
For too long, the brutal conditions of investment banking have been dismissed as “just part of the job.” But at what cost?
• Worker Deaths: We’ve seen exhausted analysts collapse at their desks, heart attacks in the office, and suicides linked to unbearable pressure. 3 Deaths LTM is 3 too many!
• Long Hours: 80+ hour workweeks, destroyed health, and “protected weekends” that are anything but protected.
• Misleading Bonuses: Endless all-nighters, only to be blindsided by discretionary pay cuts while MDs pocket record payouts.
Enough is enough. Wall Street banks love to tell us we’re too ambitious, too independent, too well-paid to unionize-but what have they actually done for us? Look at professional sports leagues!
Introducing the Wall Street Labor Alliance (WSLA)
WSLA is a movement for bankers, by bankers aiming for transparency, fair treatment, and an end to exploitative work conditions.
What we demand:
Real Work-Life Protections: No more empty promises, real limits on abuse.
Bonus Transparency: Clear criteria, no more arbitrary cuts, percent of revenue pool dedicated per level.
Mental Health & Safety: No banker should die from overwork.
You are not alone, and change will only happen if we demand it. Message us to get involved. Wall Street thrives on our labor, it’s time we take back control. Comment below on your thoughts and ideas to make this happen.
Based on the most helpful WSO content, the issues raised by the Wall Street Labor Alliance (WSLA) align closely with ongoing discussions about the grueling conditions in investment banking. Here are some key insights and actionable ideas from previous WSO threads:
Worker Deaths and Overwork: The concept of "Karōshi" (death from overwork) has been a recurring topic. Suggestions include implementing a "Junior Banker Protection Pact" to enforce real work-life balance policies. WSO could play a role in tracking adherence to these policies through its Company Database, ranking banks based on their treatment of junior staff. For more, see: https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/investment-banking/death-from-ove…</a">Death from Overwork (Karōshi) in Finance.
Long Hours: Surveys like the WSO 2023 Investment Banking Work-Conditions Survey highlight the normalization of 100+ hour workweeks. A potential solution is to involve third-party oversight for tracking hours worked, as internal tracking often faces conflicts of interest. Publicly shaming bad actors and celebrating positive changes could also drive accountability. For survey insights, visit: https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/investment-banking/wso-2023-inves…</a">WSO 2023 Investment Banking Work-Conditions Survey.
Misleading Bonuses: Transparency in bonus allocation is a common grievance. A proposed solution is to dedicate a fixed percentage of the revenue pool to each level, ensuring fairness. This could be coupled with WSO's ability to collect and publish data on compensation satisfaction and discrepancies.
Mental Health and Safety: Mental health remains a critical concern. WSO threads suggest leveraging data to highlight firms with better mental health practices and creating a public forum to keep this issue in focus. For example, tracking the impact of policies like "No Saturdays" and sharing verified user feedback could help.
Unionization: While unionization in investment banking is a bold idea, it faces significant cultural and structural challenges. However, movements like WSLA could gain traction by focusing on collective advocacy, transparency, and leveraging platforms like WSO to amplify their message.
The WSLA's goals resonate with many in the industry, but achieving them will require sustained effort, data-driven advocacy, and collaboration. For further reading and community discussions, explore the links above.
Sources: Death from Overwork (Karōshi) in Finance, "Karōshi": Death from Overwork on Wall Street, WSO 2023 Investment Banking Work-Conditions Survey RESULTS (3rd Annual), WSO 2023 Investment Banking Work-Conditions Survey RESULTS (3rd Annual), WSO 2022 Investment Banking Work-Conditions Survey (Part 1/3)
How would this work?
So long as there are dumbass hardos who would kill their parents for a BB seat and view IB as more than literally just a job, idk if this will work
For better or worse, I think this idea is profoundly delusional about the bargaining power of non-revenue generating investment bankers in February 2025.
Banks have been seriously exploring the use of AI to automate huge swaths of the work done by execution bankers. I bet they plan to gradually hire fewer juniors while integrating this stuff into their operations over a few years
Do you really want to call their bluff as a 23 year old pulling in ~$200K with a history degree from Brown tho? They might respond to the first whiff of this with https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsar_Bomba and nuke like 95% of their non-revenue generators.
public opinion wouldn't help either. people already hate the banks - they have nothing to lose. But most people also probably can't find a fuck to give about 25 yos making 4x+ the median US household.
The best way to express your dissatisfaction with banking is to leave rather than fight an ocean of economic forces imo.
You sound like a hardo MD that no one would want to work for
Welp you do logic like a "neurodivergent" chimpanzee so I dunno that you're anyone's first choice for a deal team either
This is my objective read. I would've told analysts to play hardball and demand the CEO suite in 2021 bc the facts were way different.
You sound like a wise MD that everyone would want to work for
hes not giving you a coffee chat bro
dude you are soooo stupid. you tryna unionize people who work in high finance? have you read a single book in history or economics? i doubt that you're working at an investment bank. dumb.
Can’t just keep having workers drop dead
You’re free to leave at any time though.
Man I hate IB culture as much as anyone hence why I left but do we really think these deaths have anything to do with banking rather than the obvious elephant in the room that starts with the letter V and ends in ccine?
I mean theres a reason your "LTM" number has spiked from 0 (outside of that Lincoln kid with a genetic issue) in a suspiciously correlated and short time period
I think this idea won’t work simply because of the cognitive dissonance of a bunch of mostly conservative young people who on principle dislike labor unions voting to unionize themselves would be too much
As competition within IB increases and more boutiques get started, fee pool will be split more ways and inflation adjusted pay will continue to decline each year (as it has). In 10 years time these won’t be high paying jobs
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