Santander briefly closed a branch inside its Boston headquarters on Monday morning after pro-union demonstrators entered the building at 75 State St.

According to reports the activists numbered around 40 to 50 and consisted largely of bank workers, housing rights advocates and community leaders agitating bank tellers to unionize.

Ann Davis, a spokeswoman for Santander, said that corporate security closed the branch inside the building for less than an hour “to ensure the safety of our customers and employees” and that Santander’s corporate headquarters were not closed at any point because of the demonstration.

“We believe [Monday’s] activities are nothing more than another aspect of an ongoing campaign sponsored by the Communications Workers of America to unfairly and inappropriately discredit Santander,” she said in a statement.

The Communication Workers of America along with a coalition called the Committee for Better Banks are trying to recruit Santander workers ahead of the bank’s annual shareholders meeting next month. Santander’s parent company employs unionized workers in other countries in Europe and South America, but its U.S. workers are reportedly the first bank workers in America to seek to unionize. According to a report in the Boston Globe, union organizers and Santander workers demonstrated last month in Boston and Dallas, where its auto lending business is located.

“As we’ve said many times before, Santander recognizes and respects the rights of its employees to unionize or not, as they choose under U.S. law,” Davis continued in her statement. “Santander prides itself on having an employee-friendly workplace where our employees are recognized and motivated and where direct, open and frequent communication between employees and management is encouraged. At Santander, we work hard to create a positive and productive work environment that ensures our customers are treated fairly and our employees are held to a high standard of ethical conduct.”