TUKWILA, Wash. - As 22,000 employees went on strike at aerospace firm Boeing, Boeing Employees' CU here was busy "escalating" its Income Interruption Plan.
Of the 22,000 employees that walked off the job Feb. 9, 13,000 are members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace union. Of those 13,000 union employees, about 12,000 are members of BECU.
A work stoppage at Boeing is nothing new, and over the years BECU has developed programs to deal with these stoppages. But BECU CEO Gary Oakland emphasized that BECU's Income Interruption Plan isn't just for a strike or work stoppage.
"Sure we've gone through major strikes, but we have an ongoing Income Interruption Plan in place because there's a history of upturns and downturns of employment at the Boeing company," said Oakland. "There's been layoffs, reassignments, people moving from various parts of the country. When there's a strike like this morning we just escalate the Income Interruption Plan."
That means notifying staff of the situation and opening up automated channels, such as the CU's call center, to help affected members take advantage of the program.
As part of the plan, BECU offers affected members the ability to borrow up to $3,000 in unsecured credit or $10,000 in secured credit. Loan payments don't have to be made until 90 days after the loan is taken out. In addition, affected employees don't have to pay existing BECU loans for 90 days, unless they are loans sold on the secondary market.
Joe Brancucci, vice president of lending for BECU, said BECU will also allow members to transfer existing loans from other financials to BECU so they can take advantage of the 90-day deferred payment program.
The $3,000 or $10,000 lines of credit are extended to members with good credit histories for them to do what they want with the money. But for members who have challenged credit, Brancucci said BECU will still advance them funds, but BECU will manage paying their bills.
"It's kind of unique. For members with weaker credit we don't want them to get in trouble by thinking they have a windfall. We will pay their monthly bills for them, whether it's insurance payments or mortgages," said Brancucci. "The objective is to get them through this difficult period without hurting their credit."
Oakland said going back 30 years ago if a walkout like this occurred it could have very well taken the credit union down. "Under old FOM rules if a member left the company they left the credit union," said Oakland. "The credit union was more concerned about surviving back then, than finding ways to help members."
But in the early `80s as the Boeing work force dropped from 80,000 to 50,000 employees, BECU maintained itself due to the once a member always a member FOM rule and some financial preparations. With the credit union in good shape, it could now stop worrying about how to survive a layoff and start worrying about how to help striking members.
"During the last strike (a two month strike in 1995) membership went up, loans went up, deposits went up and reserves went up proportionally," said Oakland.
BECU is one of the more "purer" CUs in the nation based on serving its core sponsor group. More than 75% of its members are made up of current Boeing employees and immediate family members; and retired employees and their immediate family members. Approximately 40% of BECU's 260,000 members are actually current Boeing employees. Boeing has $3 billion in assets. -
pgentile@cutimes.com
