Lake Michigan CU Employees Vote in Favor to Form Labor Union

Employees at Michigan’s largest financial cooperative, the $11.7 billion Lake Michigan Credit Union in Caledonia, voted Friday to unionize at one branch location for higher wages, benefits and better working conditions.

Seven employees at LMCU’s south division branch in Wyoming, Mich., voted in favor of forming a union with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and five employees voted against it during a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election, the first successful NLRB election in the financial services industry in decades, according to union organizers. One LMCU employee did not vote.

After the new labor union receives its NLRB certification, the credit union will be required by federal law to bargain over the terms and conditions of employment with a union representative, according to the NLRB.

Some employees at the south division branch, who work as tellers and member service representatives, said they have asked upper management to address their long-standing issues. Despite their branch management’s best efforts, these employees said their concerns have not been resolved, which led to their decision to organize a union.

LMCU’s management said they see it differently.

“At LMCU, we have long been focused on providing excellent employment and career opportunities with competitive wages and benefits in a welcoming work environment, so we view this vote as unfortunate,” LMCU said after the vote results were announced. “Open communications with all LMCU team members is something we strive for and, in our opinion, outside unions have their own agenda that doesn’t necessarily benefit staff or members as promised, and oftentimes doesn’t align with what the credit union hopes is in the best interest of our valued staff. We have shared before that we believe unions are unnecessary for LMCU to maintain the high employment standards and customer service that our team members work hard every day to deliver.”

In a Dec. 12 letter to LMCU President/CEO Sandy Jelinski, employees said they felt unappreciated and undercompensated for their contribution in making the branch successful. Employees said the Wyoming location – southwest of Grand Rapids – is one of LMCU’s busiest branches by customer transactions where multiple different languages are spoken.

“Those of us with bilingual skills are not compensated for those additional skills,” the letter to Jelinski read. “In addition, we are often pulled from the teller line to assist coworkers in the call center or other departments with members who require assistance in Spanish or another language. Further, there are many of us who have been with the CU for years now who have not received commensurate raises and as such are being paid as the same as starting employees.”

Anaisa Sanchez, an LMCU teller, said employees worked hard to form the new union – Lake Michigan Credit Union Workers Alliance – to create a work environment that reflects and respects the hard work employees do to serve members.

“With a voice on the job, we are able to speak up on the issues that would have otherwise been neglected,” Sanchez said.

Ivan Diaz, a LMCU member service representative, said that with a union, employees can work directly with upper management to address longstanding issues at the branch to better serve members and the community.

The Committee for Better Banks (CBB) described the LMCU union election as historic and builds on the recent organizing momentum in the financial services industry and across the labor movement. CBB is a coalition member of the CWA, which represents hundreds of thousands of workers across several industries.

LMCU employees will join more than 100 banking and credit union workers at CWA, including employees at the $1.6 billion Beneficial State Bank in Oakland, Calif., which in 2020 formed the first union in the banking industry in 40 years, and the $37.7 million Genesee Co-Op Federal Credit Union in Rochester, N.Y., which organized a union early last year, according to CBB.

Beneficial State and Genesee Co-Op workers’ unions received voluntary recognition from their employers.

LMCU employees did not receive voluntary recognition from their upper management.

However, LMCU also said in its statement on Friday that the south division branch team members remain a valuable part of the credit union.

“And we look forward to their ongoing focus and support in always doing what is best for our members and their financial well-being,” LMCU said.