CUNA Mutual Group fires union leader amid tense negotiations

With more credit union staffers seeking to unionize, the recent suspension and termination of one CUNA Mutual Employee over a violation of its data privacy policy is underscoring the struggles that many face when seeking change.

On top of his more than four-year tenure with the Madison, Wisconsin-based insurance provider as a qualified retirement plan specialist, Joe Evica led union negotiations between CMG and staff as the chief steward for the Office and Professional Employees International Union's Local 39 chapter, which partnered with CMG more than 80 years ago.

According to the company, Evica was fired on April 4 for violating data privacy rules. Kathryn Bartlett-Mulvihill, president of OPEIU Local 39, said that the termination of Evica is antagonistic to the core values of the credit union industry and is reflective of the company's ongoing shift away from its original focus on credit unions and helping others.

"Over the last decade, CUNA Mutual Group has been distancing itself from credit unions by spending the majority of their time and money acquiring companies outside the credit union space [and] these acquisitions have shifted their values away from helping people to a singular focus on making a profit," Bartlett-Mulvihill said.

Contract negotiations between CUNA Mutual's upper management and members of the union began anew when the prior collective bargaining agreement expired in March 2022. These negotiations recently soured as the group claimed CMG was unwilling to meet with the union, and was violating the National Labor Relations Board's joint employer standard by hiring outside professionals for tasks similar to those performed by unionized employees.

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Members of the union ramped up their efforts to force management to engage with them and filed numerous unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB since February, alleging offenses ranging from bad-faith bargaining and coercive actions to unjust discipline and discharge of employees — the latter of which was filed after Evica's termination.

As legal counsel, the company recruited labor and employment firms Ogletree Deakins and Jackson Lewis, which specialize in representing organizations during the unionization process.

Evica explained that, in addition to the company stalling contract negotiations by allegedly failing to meet with union representatives, the gradual outsourcing of union positions to external contractors has remained one of the chief grievances for the union.

"[With] more than 1,000 contractors in [CUNA Mutual Group's] directory, hundreds of which are performing the exact same kind of work side-by-side with union employees and oftentimes under the same supervisors in the same meetings … we filed around the joint employer issue, because the company is essentially hiding union work behind contractors," Evica said.

Evica was fired less than a month after surrendering his work laptop for a forensic audit as part of an investigation into alleged wrongdoings. The company cited violations of "workplace rules regarding data privacy and information handling as stated in the labor agreement," according to a statement from CMG.

"[Evica's] employment was terminated following an interview with him in the presence of union representation and a computer forensic audit that was conducted by a third-party firm. … We expect every employee, regardless of position, to abide by workplace rules, our Code of Conduct and policies," the company said.

The ongoing conflict between union leaders and upper management within CMG is reflective of the challenges facing others attempting to launch similar initiatives within their own workplaces.

Ivan Diaz, a former member service representative for the Lake Michigan Credit Union in Caledonia, Michigan, was fired for alleged "repeated acts of serious misconduct in violation of [LMCU] policy and procedure, including a direct violation of LMCU's dual control policy, new account and customer identification program procedures," amid other charges, according to his notice of termination. Diaz oversaw the LMCU Workers Alliance's organizational campaign and successful election prior to his dismissal.

Within the $12 billion-asset LMCU, employees at a separate branch were inspired by the original group of union members and have gone on to launch a campaign of their own.

Leaders of other financial institutions such as the $39 million-asset Genesee Co-Op Federal Credit Union in Rochester, New York, and the $1.7 billion-asset Beneficial State Bank in Oakland, California, have responded more amicably in the face of similar campaigns for unionizing workforces. 

Through the NLRB investigation of the pending charges against CMG, and the campaign for reinstating Evica's position, union leaders are additionally pushing for overall improvements to job security, health and retirement benefits, wage equity and initiatives for diversity, equity and inclusion.

"CMG has created a powder keg by doing this to Joe. … They've united the union's membership more strongly than ever behind getting the contract we deserve," Sarah Larsen, an administrative specialist at CMG and member of the union's bargaining committee, said in a press release on March 15.

Members of CMG's union recently finalized a vote deciding whether or not to authorize a ULP strike and announced Monday evening that 92% of union members sided in favor with the decision.

OPEIU was founded in 1945 as an advocacy resource for employees of nonprofit organizations, credit unions, insurance agencies and more, with the organization now helping more than 100,000 members across the U.S. and Canada.