In 2021, CUNA Mutual had a record breaking year in financial profit. CUNA Mutual did so well, that everyone eligible to receive a raise received the maximum amount allowed per their contract/pay grade. The CEO, Bob Trunzo, released several emails detailing the significance of 2021 and the excellent financial position the company is in.
I have been working at CUNA Mutual for 3 years and I am a union represented member. As our union contract expired at the end of 2021, I had high hopes that union members would see the fruits of our labor reflected in the new contract. Despite the enormous profits generated by our employees, CUNA Mutual hired a well-known union busting lawyer and they began to show their true colors as our union contract negotiations started.
This is what CUNA Mutual is proposing in the new contract:
Require any new hires to work on location for the first 6 months of their employment. This is despite the fact that over 90% of staff are fully virtual or only working in the office part-time. We also hired and trained people fully remotely for the past 2 years during the pandemic.
After 5 years of employment, CUNA Mutual is proposing to reduce our 8 days of annual sick pay to 5 days of annual sick pay. Yes, that’s correct, they want to decrease our sick days with tenure rather than increase them.
We currently receive 3 personal days per year in addition to our vacation days. The company is proposing to eliminate our 3 personal days.
As of 2023, new hires will no longer be able to participate in the pension plan.
The company wants to entirely eliminate the HMO health insurance option for all union members.
The company wants to continue to offer only 3-4% annual raises despite inflation being 8%. Senior employees who are being paid at the higher end of their roles salary range will receive lower annual increases effectively penalizing tenure.
To be clear, these are only some of the proposals they started with in their negotiations. One of their original proposals was to completely eliminate our staff’s HSA accounts. The proposal would have meant all of the money saved in those accounts, whether in the hundreds or the tens of thousands, would have been eliminated so that the money in those accounts would be returned to CUNA Mutual.
I’m writing this because I want potential hires and people who use CUNA Mutual’s services to be aware that the company’s rosy image of being a people-oriented place of work that cares about its employees is false. They made incredible financial gains in 2021 and instead of rewarding employees for their work, they want to reduce benefits and financial incentives. This is corporate greed at its finest.