Although these proposals have the potential to make a significant impact on the leagues, most of the 40 league CEOs didn't respond to CU Times' email and phone requests seeking comments. Only two league CEOs commented on CUNA's proposed preliminary ideas.

While a few league CEOs responded with “no comment,” others, such as Tennessee Credit Union League President/CEO Fred Robinson, said they would rather wait for the final recommendations to be released before making comment. Dave Adams, president/CEO of the Michigan Credit Union League, said his views are represented very well by CUNA President Jim Nussle's recent video presentation about the national trade association's proposals.

One of the key preliminary ideas would establish league/national interdependence while retaining a league/national connection with some credit union choice of league.

CU Times requested that CUNA clarify what the phrase “with some credit union choice of league” means. CUNA's survey of credit unions found that the majority of larger credit unions would prefer to choose between joining a league or CUNA.

“One of the preliminary ideas of CUNA's System Structure and Governance Task Force is that credit unions might have a choice of which league(s) they join,” Nussle said in a prepared statement to CU Times.

But that choice, he added, would only be for those credit unions that have a significant proportion of their members in more than one state – only they would be eligible to join more than one league. The system whereby a credit union is jointly a member of CUNA and one or more leagues would not change, ensuring interdependence and unity in advocacy, he said.

Tom R. Dorety, president/CEO of the $6.3 billion Suncoast Credit Union in Tampa, Fla., who chairs the task force, emphasized that the choice question is still under discussion and nothing has been decided by the task force.

However, Dorety shared insights about what the league choice issue would mean and how it would work if adopted. He estimated several hundred credit unions serve the majority of their members in more than one state.

Some of the larger credit unions, Dorety acknowledged, do want the choice of affiliating with any league, joining CUNA or a league, or both.

“So the question we had to face was that some credit unions would like the choice of joining any league or CUNA or both,” Dorety said. “When we looked at the overriding theme of advocacy, it became clear to us that the last thing we need to do is to set up a system where leagues and CUNA are in direct competition for advocacy dollars.”

Read more: Dorety argues advocacy is not a product or service …

Although everyone wants competition for the products and services they buy, advocacy is not a product or service, Dorety argued. Instead, advocacy is a process that works to protect and improve the credit union movement.

“So what we have attempted to do here is to provide a system that remains interdependent, that increases accountability among all of the parties, but then also offers some choice,” he said. “We hope that it's enough. It's a significant change to the system because it does something that hasn't been done before. It sets an established advocacy dues model and those are things that haven't been done before.”

For credit unions with a majority of members in four states that would qualify to join four state leagues, for example, those cooperatives would be given the choice to decide how their dues would be apportioned among the four leagues. Qualified credit unions, however, would not be allowed to send their dues to Leagues A, B, and C, but nothing to their home state league.

“Right now, at least, we have not moved from having to send at least a portion of your dues to your league where your headquarters are located,” Dorety said.

Additionally, the task force is considering allowing credit unions the choice of allocating a percentage of their dues to the national advocacy fund or their league.

Bill Mellin, president/CEO of the New York Credit Union Association, supports the choice issue.

“I would be supportive of that if it helps us to engage credit unions,” Mellin said. “I think credit unions are saying they want choice, but they also want effective advocacy. We know that effective advocacy is best kept when we have strong state-level and national-level trade associations that are working with each other.”

Tracie Kenyon, president/CEO of the Montana Credit Union Network, viewed the proposed changes as a “natural evolution in our quest to provide the best-in-class representation that credit union members deserve.”

“As trade associations, our main focus is to ensure that consumers have access to all financial products through credit unions; to that end, we are constantly seeking ways to improve our ability to advocate at the state and national level for the not-for-profit financial cooperative alternative,” Kenyon, who also is the chair of the American Association of Credit Union Leagues, said.

Kenyon, however, did not address the league choice issue.

Dorety said another important preliminary idea being discussed by the task force is establishing institutional accountability that would ensure all of the leagues and CUNA are operating at maximum efficiency at providing the best advocacy.

CUNA surveys showed that satisfaction with the CUNA/league system is not high, especially among larger cooperatives. What's more, credit unions are disappointed with the lack of results on big issues.

“This is what we think is critical going forward to improve the system,” Dorety said. “We're looking at setting up partnership agreements between the league and CUNA and amongst the leagues themselves that say, here is what we are going to do from an advocacy standpoint. And then have the accountability from the reporting.”

Dorety also said it would be ideal to hold credit unions accountable.

“To tell CUNA, 'Here is your money, now go get us a bill,' it just doesn't happen that way,” he said. “That is the fallacy in the system. The credit union system needs support from credit unions and their members to get something done. That is what has to happen. What we need is a tighter, more focused system on advocacy.”

Dorety said the task force is expected to present its final recommendations in a report to the CUNA board within several months. The board will decide whether to adopt the recommendations, he said.