Strike extended at Madison credit union servicing company

Picketing is set to continue this week outside the headquarters of CUNA Mutual Group, which has recently rebranded its business as TruStage, a Madison financial services company on the city’s West Side.

Members of Office & Professional Employees International Union Local 39 voted to extend their walkout, which began May 19, beyond its initial 5-day period. A union announcement on Twitter said the extension had the approval of 94% of union members voting.

“The extension vote authorizes the strike to continue through June,” the union stated after the extension vote. “Future extensions are also possible.”

The strike is one of the largest by white-collar workers in Wisconsin in decades and the first at CUNA Mutual Group, where the union has represented employees since the mid-1940s.

The union has called the work stoppage an unfair labor practice strike and has filed several charges against the company with the National Labor Relations Board. The contract negotiations have centered on a wide range of issues including pay, pay equity, health care, pension coverage and remote work, according to union leaders and members.

The company and the union first began negotiating a new contract in February 2022, and union members have been working without a contract for more than a year, since March 31, 2022.