Credit Unions Should Not be “Bowling Alone”

Nate Muniz, Public Relations Manager, PSECU by: Nate Muniz, Public Relations Manager, PSECU

In 2000, Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University Robert D. Putnam published a landmark book of research called Bowling Alone:  The Collapse and Revival of American Community. In his book he cites extensive research that shows social bonds and structures in our country have systematically eroded to the point where it imperils the overall wellbeing of our society. While the research is dated, and there have been many changes in how we socialize with one another since 2000, the themes and conclusions still resonate today. In particular, I’d like to examine chapter 21 of the book:  Democracy.

In this chapter, Dr. Putnam makes many assertions, most basically that in order to maintain a strong democracy we must have healthy levels of social capital. If this capital is diminished, meaningful deliberation declines and society suffers. He notes, “If participation in political deliberation declines – if fewer and fewer voices engage in democratic debate – our politics will become more shrill and less balanced.”  Sound familiar?  When reasonable people disengage, all that’s left are those on the extremes.

Let me be clear. I’m not here to rock the boat, but rather I hope to start a meaningful discussion about the future of the credit union movement, and what I believe to be a vital, yet underused part of that future – member participation in grassroots political efforts. It is my opinion that credit unions can and should represent that middle ground in our country’s political discourse. The problem is that for far too long individual credit unions have sat on the sidelines content that our trade associations had everything taken care of. During that time the trades did a great job of representing credit unions’ interests and still do. The problem is the game has changed. Putnam quotes fellow Harvard sociologist and political scientist Theda Skocpol, who says:

“In recent times the old civic America has been bypassed and shoved to the side by a gaggle of professionally dominated advocacy groups and nonprofit institutions rarely attached to memberships worthy of the name. Ideas of shared citizenship and possibilities for democratic leverage have been compromised in the process.”

Even though this was written over 10 years ago, as I sat writing this and watched my Twitter feed get bombarded with comments about today’s Supreme Court rulings (they overturned the Montana campaign finance law that banned corporate spending on political races), I was struck with how prescient Dr. Skocpol’s comment really was.

The good news is that credit unions are still poised to reverse this trend, based on their cooperative structure and the great amounts of social capital they have cultivated with their members. Credit unions, even “branchless” credit unions like mine, have a unique relationship with their members. Following up on the recent “calls to action” during the Durbin debate, we decided to test just how much capital we had with our members and surveyed a small group about their appetite for becoming more involved in grassroots action. What we found reinforced my belief that not only should members be directly involved in grassroots action, they want to be. When asked why they participated in the calls to action, they said things like:

“I believe Credit Unions are a vital part to a community. It seems like today, corporate greed is taking over business after business. It is nice to know that your Credit Union
has ‘your-back’ and is looking out for their customers.”

“Like to protect my credit union; much better service and value over any banks. Banks will lobby congress to get laws written for their favor.”

“This credit union has been good to me my entire adult life and I will do whatever fighting I can to keep the job level of service possible.”

“If the credit union makes me aware of an important issue that affects lots of fellow members and myself, I would like to take some action if it seems worthwhile to do so.”

These are only a few of the 200 or so comments we received, most of which were very similar. From our preliminary work we’ve found that we are not “Bowling Alone.”  We have created social capital with our members and because of that capital, they are willing to get involved in legislative issues that affect their credit union. It’s time that we not be content with allowing the trades to do all the work and get ourselves, and our members, off the sidelines.

Opinions expressed are the personal views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the institution.

Nate Muniz joined the credit union industry in 2004 and is Public Relations Manager at Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union (PSECU).  With a background in government and politics from his time on Capitol Hill, he monitors federal and state legislation and communicates with members about how these issues affect the credit union.  His specific area of focus with government relations is grassroots and member mobilization.    He can be found on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Nate Muniz

Nate Muniz

Nate Muniz joined the credit union industry in 2004 and is Government Relations Manager at Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union (PSECU). With a background in government and politics from his ... Web: www.psecu.com Details