MADISON, Wis. -
The e-mail included a link to a website at www.keepcunamutual.com, which suggests that CMG's endgame for this merger is to demutualize the firm. CUNA Mutual CEO Jeff Post has categorically denied that there is any plan to demutualize the organization.
"We are not proposing a demutualization. Like the credit unions we serve, CUNA Mutual is a cooperative-the cooperative terminology used in insurance happens to be 'mutual,'" Post said in a memo sent out to credit union CEOs. "We believe our mutual structure provides us with significant competitive advantages in serving our credit union customers, allowing us to share our successes with you, our policyholders."
The keepcunamutual.com website is registered to the OPEIU in New York City, which is the headquarters for the Office and Professional Employees International Union. The Local 39 chapter of OPEIU in Madison which represented some 1,400 CUNA Mutual employees in the 15-month long labor dispute in 2004 and 2005 that led to the downfall of CMG's former CEO, Mike Kitchen. Kitchen resigned after it was revealed he had provided money to aid a bid to create a separate bargaining unit that union leaders said was an attempt to bust the union.
Part of the merger proposal calls for domiciling the merged entity in Iowa. Currently, CMIS is domiciled in Madison, Wis., but CMLIC is domiciled in Iowa.
"We think it's really unfortunate that a non-credit union party is speculating and providing misinformation about our plans," CMG spokesperson Rick Uhlmann said. The keepcunamutual.com website claims to be "CUNA Mutual policyholders, just like you." The OPEIU representative listed as the registrant of the website is Michael Goodwin. He was unavailable for comment at press time.
For More Info
For more information on why CUNA Mutual is making the moves it is, visit www.cujournal.com and search "Jeff Post" to read his March 26 editorial.
