A member in good standing is the status assigned to a Indiana REIA member who has registered and remained current on attendance and dues, and thereby qualifies for member benefits, certifications and designations.
Who is a member in good standing?
The Fort Wayne REIA™ (hereafter REIA) Constitution defines a member in good standing as:
(a) an active member of the Association
(b) who has met the dues payment schedule set forth in the REIA Dues Policy.
Are all REIA members active members?
No. There are other categories of REIA membership in addition to active members, including associate members and REIA-Retired members. They are not active members because they are not employees in bargaining units represented by an REIA affiliate.
How long may a member be expired and still be a member in good standing?
The REIA Dues has specific payment schedules for 10-month and 12-month employees. In general, a member may be a month overdue in paying his or her dues and still be a member in good standing. Generally, falling two or more months behind in the payment of dues would make the person a member in arrears and not a member in good standing.
When does a REIA membership expire?
A member in payment of dues is expired after one day of lapse of renewing membership. As of the expiration the member may immediately renew or do so at a time more suitable.
Once a member becomes a member in arrears, how does the member return to being a member in good standing?
By paying his or her dues to meet the schedule in the REIA Dues Policy, the person immediately returns to being a member in good standing. However, that person may not be eligible for REIA legal services, if the need for legal services arose while the person was a member in arrears.
Why is it important to be a member in good standing?
Only members in good standing may attend Association meetings, hold Association office or serve on Association committees or commissions, and vote on Association issues, including voting on the ratification of a collective bargaining agreement. Only members in good standing are entitled to the fullrange of legal services provided under the REIA Legal Representation Policy. In fact, a member who is in arrears at the time of an adverse employment action may not be eligible for REIA legal services, because a person must be a member in good standing at the time of the incident resulting in the need for legal services.
What happens if a member fails or refuses to pay the dues owed to the Association?
The REIA Board of Directors has adopted a Dues Collection Policy, which provides the process for attempting to collect overdue Association dues. During the first 60 days that a member is behind in the payment of dues, the local association will make several contacts with the member to attempt to persuade the member to pay his or her dues. Once the member is 60 days or more in arrears, the REIA Membership Team will make at least three contacts with the member by e-mail, phone, or mail, depending upon the member’s contact information. If the member fails to either pay the dues or establish a payment schedule, the member will be sent a letter advising that he or she has 30 days to either forward payment or to arrange for a payment plan with REIA. If the member still does not pay, the member’s overdue account will be referred for collection procedures.
Is a member in good standing if they’re making payments on a payment plan established with REIA Membership for current or prior years’ dues?
For this first year under these new policies only, REIA will consider a member to be in good standing if he or she is making payments for the current year and is complying with a payment plan for dues owed from prior years.
Note: Member in Good Standing, as described above, should not be construed in any way as to infer a member of REIA is a member as described in the by-laws and constitution of REIA. If you are not a member yet please refer to the membership levels for benefits and fees. Members interested in renewing can renew on-line or contact REIA
