LMCU unionization effort spreads to Florida branch

From MiBiz.com:

The union that successfully organized staff at a Lake Michigan Credit Union branch near Grand Rapids has filed for another election to represent staff at an office in Florida.

The Communications Workers of America’s petition to the National Labor Relations Board seeks an election for staff at LMCU’s Bonita Beach office in Bonita Springs, Fla., to decide on union representation.

In a letter today to LMCU CEO Sandra Jelinski, two workers at the Bonita Beach branch asked that LMCU voluntarily recognize the union by March 1. If Jelinski agrees, they would withdraw the NLRB petition for an election.

The Florida workers cite the same issues that led staff at the South Division branch in Wyoming to seek union representation late last year. These include concerns about what workers say are low staffing and low pay, according to an announcement from the Committee for Better Banks, a coalition of bank employees, advocacy groups and labor unions.

“The current staffing model does not support our development needs which include the ability to receive adequate training and the opportunity to grow. There are not enough people to support the traffic of our branch and to properly mentor our newly hired branch staff,” they wrote. “There is little-to-no room for flexibility when we need time off for health reasons or unforeseen life events because it causes our branch to be inadequately staffed. We are tired of shouldering these burdens while our concerns are repeatedly ignored. For these reasons, we would like additional compensation for having to work in understaffed branches.”