CMG Union Votes On SeparationBid

MADISON, Wis. - (01/05/05) -- White collar workers at CUNA MutualGroup have been voting the past two weeks on a proposal to separatefrom the insurer's employees union, the Office and ProfessionalEmployees International Union, Local 39, and form their owncollective bargaining unit within the OPEIU. Results of the ballot,sent by the OPEIU to 351 employees in CUNA Mutual's IT department,are expected to be tabulated Wednesday, sources familiar with theprocess told The Credit Union Journal. The union organized theballot on the rare separation in order to bypass a vote which wouldhave been overseen by federal labor authorities, that could haveentailed a vote first to decertify the Local 39, then reconstituteit as separate bargaining units. Workers in CUNA Mutual's ITdepartment initiated the separation effort because of frustrationover long-stalled union negotiations on a new laborcontract.