LATHAM, N.Y. -
Instead, it's the trade associations that serve them. The same challenges that credit unions are facing are having a trickle-down effect on the industry's trade associations.
"We need to bring attention to this issue," said New York State CU League CEO Bill Mellin. "This is not something we should keep under the table. This whole issue of deciding to affiliate or not with the league does have an impact on the efficiency of the league. And this can't be happening just here."
Oklahoma CU league CEO Lisa Finley agreed. "This is a challenge for the system as a whole," she said. "We lose some members to mergers, and there's no provision in our dues structures for mergers, so we lose dues when mergers happen. Additionally, we have some credit unions, particularly small ones, that have tough bottom line issues, and they decide they just can't afford to join. The problem is, they're the ones who need us the most."
Mellin recently sent a letter to NYSCUL member credit unions to ask them how the league should deal with declining membership. Approximately 140 New York credit unions are not members of the league, with 375 credit unions affiliated. "We had 89% of all New York credit unions two years ago, now we're down to 72%," he told Credit Union Journal, noting that a good portion of that decrease is the result of mergers, as opposed to credit unions deciding against affiliating. Others decide to drop out of the league because they are disaffected with the movement as a whole. "They see a credit union move in down the street and see that as a decrease in cooperation and decide they don't like where credit unions are going and take it out on the league."
Regardless of why they're not joining, however, it poses a number of challenges, he said, not the least of which is how to treat non-members.
"So, as a credit union that is a member of the league, I need to ask you what our course should be with credit unions that are not members of the league," Mellin wrote in his message to his member credit unions. "Should we look for ways to involve them or should we shun them? If we do involve them, where should we draw the line between members and non-members? If we shun them completely, how do we foster unity and cooperation within the credit union movement?"
New York is not alone in asking these questions. At the national level, NAFCU's membership has essentially maintained status quo, largely due to the fact that its membership is mostly made of bigger credit unions, according to CEO Fred Becker, but even though his association is "less affected" than some of the state leagues, it's still a key issue for the trade group.
"Part of the problem is that all credit unions benefit from the work we are doing, whether they pay dues or not," he told CU Journal. "If we get legislation passed or regulations changed, all federal credit unions benefit regardless of their membership status. They're free riders."
And those who are paying the freight often resent those free riders. When Mellin asked his member credit unions whether the league should continue to involve non-members or "shun" them, the feedback was mixed, he said. "There are a lot of credit unions who recognize that we have to strive for unity and cooperation, but there are also a lot of credit unions who resent that not everyone is paying their fair share."
