CUNA's proposed new membership bylaws removed language that requiredmember credit unions to also maintain league membership. It alsoremoved language that automatically made credit unions members ofCUNA when they joined a league.

Three documents – the proposed restated bylaws, a comparison ofthe current and proposed bylaws and the current bylaws – wereemailed to leagues and CUNA members Monday.

Download and read CUNA's new bylaw amendment packagehere.

Patrick S. Jury, president/CEO of the Iowa Credit Union Leagueand the CUNA Corporate Governance Committee, penned a cover letterthat accompanied the package. Jury wrote that the proposedbylaws provide credit unions with a choice of whether to belong totheir league, CUNA or both, according to the letter theaccompanying documents.

The proposed bylaws defined voting membership to include creditunion leagues, natural person credit unions that are defined ascooperative credit organizations chartered as credit unions underUnited States federal or state law or credit unions organized andoperating under the jurisdiction of the NCUA that are servingAmerican military and civilian personnel at overseasinstallations.

In comparison, existing CUNA membership bylaws limitedmembership eligibility to leagues, credit unions that are membersof leagues and credit unions that serve the military as definedabove. Dual membership was also addressed in existing CUNAbylaws that defined leagues, stating that each of a league's member credit unions is also automatically amember of [CUNA].

The new proposed bylaws did not specifically state leagues canaccept member credit unions without also requiring them to joinCUNA. However, by removing language that automatically granted CUNAmembership to league members, CUNA gave the leagues the flexibilityto make that call themselves, CUNA said.

“The proposed bylaws provide credit unions with a choice ofwhether to belong to their league, CUNA or to both. Our proposedmembership model will accommodate leagues who offer choice or jointmembership,” CUNA Senior Media Relations Manager VickiChristner told CU Times. “While wefirmly believe that belonging to both a state league and CUNAprovides the most value to members, we also believe that it is ourmember's prerogative to make that decision.”

Jury was unavailable for comment. An automatic reply email readthat he was on sabbatical leave and is scheduled to return May1.

“While we firmly believe that belonging to both your stateleague and CUNA provides the most value to members, we also believethat it is your prerogative to make that decision,” Jury wrote inthe CUNA cover letter.

In addition, Jury wrote that the proposed bylaw changes wouldallow CUNA's board of directors to develop a dues formula thatwould favor neither small or large credit unions.

Finally, the proposed bylaws would permit the CUNA board toadjust its membership from its current maximum of 24 to a minimumof 12.

“Any change to the size of the board would require a two-thirdsvote of all CUNA's elected directors,” he said.

CUNA members were asked in the letter to cast their votes nolater than Friday, March 18 by 5 p.m.