The Register reports that SEIU has filed a class action lawsuit in an attempt to force a depositors' vote at New Haven Savings Bank.

The Service Employees International Union is funding a class-action lawsuit intended to force a depositors’ vote. A preliminary hearing was held Monday in Superior Court here, and another hearing is scheduled Feb. 24.

"The depositors are already owners of the bank, and you are asking people to buy stock in something they already own. That’s not what a mutual bank is all about," said SEIU spokesman Bill Meyerson.

SEIU and the Greater New Haven Labor Council are encouraging depositors to withdraw their funds to protest the lack of a vote, and Elm City Congregations Organized is also protesting the conversion.

The Rev. Lillian Daniels, one of the leaders of ECCO, said she is particularly concerned with a report on red-lining written by the Connecticut Center for a New Economy, a union-affiliated organization.

"There is a long history of denying people access to wealth, which is home ownership, and what they are proposing to do is just sort of the bare minimum," said Daniels of the bank’s proposed $27 million in lending for low- and moderate-income residents.

The bank has also agreed to contribute $25 million to a fund that may lead to the creation of a community bank dedicated to low-income lending and community development.  ¶ 11:39 AM