Even though the task force is not expected to address the controversy surrounding the CUNA-league dual membership mandate, the Michigan league resolution supports allowing state leagues and their credit union members to decide on whether to keep the dual membership or to allow cooperatives an affiliation choice of joining either CUNA, the league or both.

Adams called affiliation choice a key provision in the resolution because 88% of Michigan's credit unions are in favor of it. Although the Michigan league believes it's important for credit unions to belong to both their leagues and CUNA, the state trade organization also believes it's better to give credit unions affiliation choice.

Adams doesn't buy the long-held conventional premise that allowing affiliation choice would destroy the credit union system, he said. In fact, he believes choice would make the credit union system stronger.

"I believe we could make a very strong case for why it is important to be affiliated with CUNA and why it's also important to be affiliated with the Michigan Credit Union League," he said. "We have been making that same value pitch for years. Sure, we might have a credit union or two that would decide not to join the Michigan league or decide not to join CUNA, but that would compel us to work hard to win them back based on their concerns. I think that kind of creates a certain accountability where both the state league and CUNA are responsible for the specific concerns of credit union members. I think the real underlying premise in all of this is when we listen to what our credit union members are asking for and we seek to understand that and respond to it, then that is when we are successful."

CUNA declined to comment on the Michigan league's resolution.

In its resolution, the Michigan league also said the task force's proposal to rename and rebrand state associations should be the decision of each league, not CUNA. Another one of the task force's preliminary ideas was to rename CUNA as America's Credit Unions. And to create a more unified structure, the task force also proposed that the leagues change their names, for example, to America's Credit Unions in Florida and America's Credit Unions in Michigan.

In addition, the resolution stated that state association boards and their members should determine the dues formula and how those dues should be allocated, not CUNA.

The resolution also stated that credit unions should pay dues to their home state leagues. And if credit unions operate in other states, they should be afforded access to services from those state leagues without additional dues or a reallocation of league dues.

The Michigan league resolution also asserted that what is needed from CUNA is a bold, national legislative and regulatory agency, and improved grassroots lobbying with coordination between CUNA and state associations and member credit unions.