 TITLE: What Is a Credit Union? CONTENT: What Are Employer Credit Unions?\n--------------------------------\nEmployer credit unions are available to those working in specific industries or at certain organizations or government agencies. Companies from brewer Anheuser-Busch to the grocery chain Publix have credit unions open to their employees. Other employer credit unions serve larger fields of membership.\nYou may have access to a credit union through work as a:\n*   **Government employee:** Federal government employees can join the Pentagon Federal Credit Union, known as PenFed, or other credit unions—like the Treasury Department Federal Credit Union—depending on the agency they work for.\n*   **Member of the military:** Both current and retired military service members can join the Navy Federal Credit Union; so can their family members. Other options include credit unions serving military bases, such as Andrews Federal Credit Union.\n*   **Teacher:** Credit unions for teachers are available in several states and localities.\n*   **Member of a labor union:** If you're a member of a union such as the AFL-CIO, for instance, you qualify for membership in its associated credit union.\n*   **Postal employee:** The U.S. Postal Service has its own credit union, and postal employees can also join credit unions in their cities or counties.\n*   **Police officer or firefighter:** There are multiple credit union options for police officers, firefighters and their families, generally in the localities where they work.\n*   **Transit employee:** Transit systems including the Philadelphia-area Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, known as SEPTA, and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority operate their own credit unions. END