There is, to put it mildly, an imbalance between credit unionsand banks, especially when it comes to political clout. And inthis, among the most electric of political years, countering thatimbalance is of most importance to credit unions.

Consider this:

Since 1990, the banking industry has doled out nearly $200million in contributions to congressional political campaigns. Overthat same period, credit unions have scraped up just about $19million.

At the end of last year, banks counted about 2 million employeesnationwide. Credit unions counted about 255,000 full- and part-timeemployees, and about 98,000 volunteers.

Total bank assets at the end of last year were just over $13trillion. Total credit union assets: about $776 billion.

To sum up, to date, banks have a 10 to 1 advantage over creditunions in political contributions; about a 9 to 1 advantage in"true believers;" and about a 17 to 1 advantage in financialsize.

Yet, you are thinking to yourself: Credit unions have 90 millionmembers--right? Won't that trump everything?

If only. While the 90 million is an impressive and, yes, a realnumber, it is not something that we can call up for any old reasonat any old time. These are real people we are talking about--withfamilies, jobs and lives that are subject to the pressures ofsoaring gas prices, turmoil in the housing market and just plaineconomic uncertainty like the rest of us.

That's not to say they will not react. Tell them they will losetheir credit union and all of the ways that it helps theirfamilies--like saving them an average of $239 a year in low or nofees, lower loan rates and higher return on savings. Tell them theywon't have that any longer to help pay for an extra tank of gas ortwo.

You will absolutely get a reaction in that case.

But, for the more day-to-day cases--such as pitching in to helpcredit unions reach their political goals--credit union membershave plenty on their plates to keep them busy.

That's why the burden of taking action, politically, falls onthe credit union volunteers and professional staff.

But the numbers clearly show we are at a disadvantage from thestart--with less money, fewer people and smaller size than theother guys. We know that--dollar for dollar and person toperson--we will not be able match the banking industry.

That's why CUNA takes a different approach in being politicallyactive than just making cash donations.

We recommend a variety of special projects and recommend afocused approach to credit unions that allows them to get involvedat the most effective level and with the most effective tools. Wealso employ tools of our own that help us to make the most ofdollars contributed by credit unions to further their politicalgoals.

Among the tools we recommend and use: political involvement. Weurge credit unions--including staff and volunteers--to get involvedin political activities coordinated by their state league or in alocal political campaign of their choice. We know from experiencethat the more people are involved politically, the more they willstay involved. And, the more they stay involved, the morecandidates see credit union participants as important resources todraw upon in future campaigns. To that end, we encourage creditunion people to take part in campaign schools offered by theirleagues. We also urge credit unions to conduct voter registrationor a get out the vote campaign in their credit union.

Partisan and issue-oriented communications is another. We stressto credit unions the value of using their newsletters to informmembers about candidates who support credit unions as among themost valuable ways for credit unions to make a real differencepolitically. Use of credit union information vehicles aboutpolitical, legislative and regulatory issues also helps to drivehome the credit union agenda. Further, when local candidates seecredit union support expressed directly in credit unionpublications, they immediately see the value of credit unions asdirect conduits to voters (who trust what they receive from theircredit unions). Remember there are on average 207,000 credit unionmembers per congressional district.

CUNA also participates in independent expenditures; we supportcandidates directly who support credit unions by taking action withtargeted mailings and other devices to voters. Because theseactivities are truly independent, we do it without consultationwith the candidate, as required by law. We select candidates forthis support who have demonstrated to credit unions in theircongressional district or state their commitment to credit unionideals and goals. Sometimes, our support has made an importantdifference in the candidate's race; at other times, less so. But,in either case, our action demonstrates to local candidates andtheir political organizations that credit unions are committed tothose who commit to credit unions. Thus, it is worth a candidate'seffort to consider committing to credit unions.

Do these methods and tactics place everything in perfect balancewith the advantages that the banking industry holds? Not entirely,but each plays a role.

In this election year, credit unions have the real opportunityto make a difference--by becoming involved, supporting those whosupport credit unions, and taking action. Our role at CUNA is tofacilitate credit unions in taking these actions, not only tocounterbalance the banking industry's advantage--but to do what isright for America's credit union members.

Dan Mica is president/CEO of CUNA. He can be reached at202-638-5777 or [email protected].