 Caja Laboral's motto at the time was "libreta o maleta", meaning being in the union ("libreta") was the only way to avoid forced migration ("maleta" – suitcase).Not only was Caja Laboral a credit union but also a worker's co-operative, which meant that its workers had a full right to participate both in the company's decisions and its benefits.Before its merging with Ipar Kutxa, Caja Laboral had 1.887 working members, 21.536 million euros in assets, 1.200.000 clients and 367 offices in the Basque Country and Spain.