JANESVILLE, Wis. — Blackhawk Community Credit Union said it is no longer represented by UAW Local 95 after the union notified the credit union it was ending its role as the bargaining representative for employees, with the credit union stating it has not been involved in “union busting.”
The Janesville-based credit union said the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, commonly known as the UAW, submitted a “letter of disinterest” on July 14 stating it would no longer represent Blackhawk Community Credit Union employees.
According to The Gazette, the letter stated:
“I am writing you to inform you that the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agriculture Implement Workers of America (UAW) and its Local Union No. 95 hereby disclaim and waive any and all interest in representing and any rights to be the exclusive representative of employees of Blackhawk Community Credit Union.”
Four-Decade Relationship
The move ends a labor relationship that had existed for more than four decades. The credit union said it had maintained a partnership with UAW Local 95 since 1981 and noted its origins date to 1965, when it was founded to serve workers at the Fischer Body Plant, a division of General Motors.
In a statement, Blackhawk Community Credit Union said it remains “proud of our Fischer Body Plant & General Motors roots, established in 1965, and of the respectful relationship we have maintained with UAW Local 95 since 1981.”
‘Not Union-Busting’
The credit union also rejected allegations circulating on social media that President and CEO Lisa Palma played a role in the union’s departure.
“The claim that Lisa Palma is union busting is not accurate,” the credit union said in its statement.
According to The Gazette, UAW Local 95 said in a Facebook post last week that the bargaining unit at Blackhawk Community Credit Union had recently been reduced to 27 members and that the union had seen a declining number of employees willing to serve on its bargaining committee.
“You have to have people to have a union,” the union wrote in a comment on its Facebook page.
Comments Shared
Some commenters on the post blamed the credit union’s executive leadership, including Palma, for the union’s departure, according to The Gazette.
UAW Local 95 leadership did not respond to requests for comment from The Gazette regarding the decision to end representation of the credit union’s employees.
According to The Gazette, Blackhawk Community Credit Union and UAW Local 95 had maintained close historical ties, with current and former union members serving on the credit union’s board of directors over the years.
