The proposed bylaws defined voting membership to include credit union leagues, natural person credit unions that are defined as cooperative credit organizations chartered as credit unions under United States federal or state law or credit unions organized and operating under the jurisdiction of the NCUA that are serving American military and civilian personnel at overseas installations.

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

The new proposed bylaws did not specifically state leagues can accept member credit unions without also requiring them to join CUNA. However, by removing language that automatically granted CUNA membership to league members, CUNA gave the leagues the flexibility to make that call themselves, CUNA said.

“The proposed bylaws provide credit unions with a choice of whether to belong to their league, CUNA or to both. Our proposed membership model will accommodate leagues who offer choice or joint membership,” CUNA Senior Media Relations Manager Vicki Christner told CU Times. “While we firmly believe that belonging to both a state league and CUNA provides the most value to members, we also believe that it is our member's prerogative to make that decision.”

Jury was unavailable for comment. An automatic reply email read that he was on sabbatical leave and is scheduled to return May 1.

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

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

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

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

CUNA members were asked in the letter to cast their votes no later than Friday, March 18 by 5 p.m.