Lake Michigan CU Fires Leader Who Successfully Unionized Employees

Ivan Diaz, a former employee at Michigan’s largest credit union who successfully unionized a small group of branch employees on Jan. 6, was fired unceremoniously on Feb. 1 for allegedly violating internal policy.

Soon after Diaz was terminated, the Communications Workers of America said it filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against the $11.9 billion Lake Michigan Credit Union in Caledonia for illegally firing Diaz. The unfair labor practice charge alleged LMCU terminated Diaz for his participation in the labor union “in order to discourage union activities and/or membership.” The unionized employees demanded that Diaz’s termination be revoked and other employees won’t be fired for their involvement in union organizing.

NLRB is expected to conduct an investigation.

“My termination proves just how critical a union is for LMCU workers. LMCU’s move to terminate me was a weak attempt at a scare tactic targeting my colleagues and comes right out of the union-busting playbook,” Diaz, a former member services representative who worked at the credit union for nearly five years, said.

LMCU flatly denied the allegations made by Diaz and the CWA, saying they are inaccurate, unfounded and disappointing.

“We respect the rights of employees to organize, and we look forward to a productive relationship with the union recently formed at one of our branches,” LMCU said in a statement. “Our members entrust us to protect their investments, and we expect every one of our employees to uphold the highest standards of compliance with all state and federal laws. We will always do what is right to help and protect our members and ensure that our employees have a working environment where they can contribute and thrive.”

However, employees at LMCU’s south division branch in Wyoming said that while they were contributing to the successful performance of the branch, they were underappreciated and undercompensated. Although these employees said they brought their concerns sometime earlier to the attention of upper management, they also said despite their branch management’s best efforts, their concerns had not been addressed.

On Jan. 6, seven employees, including Diaz, voted in favor of forming a union with the CWA to bargain for better working conditions, pay and benefits. Five employees voted against unionizing during an NLRB election, the first successful NLRB election in the financial services industry in decades, according to union organizers. One LMCU employee did not vote.

Diaz claimed when he was fired last week, his supervisors said he was being let go because he allegedly violated LMCU’s policy. Diaz also claimed he was not told which policy he violated and that he did not receive a termination letter.

But LMCU countered Diaz’s claims were false.

“Mr. Diaz is aware of the reasons for his dismissal, as detailed in the termination letter that was given to and reviewed with him, and he is able to share those reasons if he elects to do so, but Lake Michigan Credit Union respects the privacy of our employees and does not comment on individual employee personnel matters,” LMCU said.

Diaz said the credit union singled him out for labor union organizing before. In December, following an employees’ public announcement that they were organizing a union, LMCU SVP of Talent Nora Swart allegedly sent a letter to employees that acknowledged Diaz’s leadership role in organizing the union and called into question his motives, according to a CWA prepared statement.

The letter read in part: “I have been asking myself how and why a union organizing drive got started in the first place [...] I have a theory. It is public knowledge that Ivan is heading the union drive. That is his right. However, what is his true motivation? In my opinion, Ivan has political aspirations within the Democrat Party [...] In Ivan’s case, I think he is championing this union drive to enhance his resume to win union endorsements, thereby advancing his political aspirations within the Democrat Party [...] Is Ivan championing his cause or your cause? I think the former.”

Diaz was recently elected as a Kent County Commissioner.

LMCU did not respond to CU Times‘ request seeking comment about the letter.

Nonetheless, even though the letter acknowledged employees have the right to organize, Swart also listed several bullet points that detailed what employees should consider when joining a union and its possible consequences, including that during the bargaining process unionized employees could be locked out of their jobs by LMCU until a labor agreement is reached.

Diaz said his termination will not stop him from ensuring that workers at the South Division branch have a collective voice and seat at the table.

“We will enforce our labor rights wherever necessary to ensure a better working environment for both our members and our staff,” he said.