Support Eroding For Beleagured Union AtCUNA Mutual

MADISON, Wis. - (09/21/04) -- A rare bid to separate the employeesunion at CUNA Mutual Group is stripping away support for the union,as the increasingly bitter labor impasse stretches into its seventhmonth. At least 13 members of the local 39 of the Office andProfessional Employees Union have resigned their membership at theurging of a dissident employees group seeking to separate from thecurrent union, and as many as 100 of the union's 1,400 members havestopped paying dues, after the company ceased automaticallydeducting them when the contract expired March 31. "This is hurtingus financially," John Peterson, office manager for the OPEIU,conceded to The Credit Union Journal. The dissident group, whichhas petitioned federal labor authorities to start its bargainingunit for 'professional' employees at CUNA Mutual, is playing intothe hands of the company's bargaining strategy, he asserted."They're helping the company weaken us so we eventually have tocave in." Employees leading the separation attempt could not bereached for comment.