LANSING, Mich. — Astera Credit Union was the first in the Lansing area to take decisive action effective Monday, March 16th, 2020 to close lobbies in their greater Lansing area branches for three weeks, following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and engaging in social distancing to do their part to slow the spread of COVID-19 while simultaneously supporting employees and continuing to provide excellent service to members. Service will still be available to members through the branches’ drive thru teller stations, ATMs, and phone and internet. In explaining the decision, SVP of Operations Chris Tyler stated, “Experts and authorities have strongly encouraged us all to engage in whatever social distancing measures possible to help slow the spread of the virus. While it may be a minor inconvenience and disruption for us and our members, in the grand scheme of things, closing our lobbies to the public is one relatively small thing we can do to help accomplish this objective and be a good steward to the communities we serve, all while still being able to provide all of the same financial services to our members, just through different (and I would argue even more convenient) methods.”
Support for Employees – One result of closing their lobbies is that less staff will be needed to operate the branch. This means less work hours for employees. To ease the burden on affected employees, Astera CU’s CEO Martin Carter authorized two days per week of ‘pandemic pay’ to be offered to all hourly employees for the duration of the pandemic. Employees who wish to continue working will be rotated through such that each employee will do a mix of working, utilizing paid time off, and taking advantage of the pandemic pay. Employees without any accumulated PTO will be allowed to take their PTO bucket negative. The end result will be that all employees will continue to receive a full paycheck and will only have to dip into their PTO buckets a minimal amount, if at all. In addition, management asked all employees what their preferences were such that both requests to stay home as much as possible and requests to work as much as possible will be able to be honored to a large extent.
Support for Members – With many members potentially out of work or working reduced hours as a result of the pandemic, the credit union knows just how quickly financial hardship can occur. Astera CU wants to make sure these members have options, as well as a helping hand to assist them through this stressful time.
When speaking about the pandemic and how it may affect members, CEO Martin Carter stated, “We recognize that when work hours are reduced or employees are laid off, financial hardship can be one missed paycheck away. Providing a consultative approach and flexibility in assisting members is a cornerstone of what Astera Credit Union has always done.”
Astera CU’s partnership approach with their members means they are ready to help those in need when something like a work slowdown or shutdown due to a pandemic happens. They are doing this by providing products and services that will help to improve the financial lives of their members, with lines-of-credit, their “Lending Hand” loan designated for workers affected by the pandemic, along with a SnapCash Loan, and a variety of other consumer loans from personal loans to home loans.
About Astera CU Astera is a local, community-chartered credit union that has been serving the Lansing area for over 70 years. Astera, a cooperative financial institution owned by its members, has a member-centric business focus allowing them to provide the Lansing, DeWitt and Ionia communities with top-notch financial products and services, including: several loan types, savings accounts, electronic services that include mobile banking, mobile check deposit and more, along with access to knowledgeable staff to help members optimize their money. For more information visit Astera online at www.AsteraCU.com
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