Washington League's Tiered Membership System

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. – The Washington Credit Union League has a multiple tier membership system it says takes into consideration the unique relationships the League has with out-of-state credit unions and others involved with the movement and allows them to belong to WCUL. In addition to regular affiliated dues-paying league members with voting rights, the League’s bylaws allow for the following non-voting types of memberships: * associate members: about a dozen CUs from other states with branches in Washington State and which are affiliated with a CU trade association in their own state. May not hold office and dues assessed on a schedule determined by WCUL president/CEO. * auxiliary members: for CUs not affiliated with a trade association in their own state, foreign CUs, and providers of cooperative or not-for-profit services such as Philippine and Canadian CUs the League has relations with, and the Yakima Nation Tribal Credit Center. No members in this group yet. Can not hold office or vote; dues assessed on schedule decided by League president and aren’t less than dues charged regular members. Do not have access to CUNA services. * patron members: designed to allow past or present professionals or volunteers (no organizations, associations or business entities) to remain connected to the CU movement’s information and social networks; can not hold office or vote at League membership meetings; service availability and pricing at discretion of WCUL president. * non-member sponsors: vendors and suppliers to the CU industry are not eligible to be members of the League but they can receive one or more bundled packages of League services; can not vote or hold office; service availability and pricing at League president’s discretion; no access to CUNA services. In addition to the above categories, the League president/CEO also is allowed to use discretion in administering all policies concerning the delivery of products and services to non-members. WCUL President/CEO John Annaloro says the League often invites non-affiliates to its annual meeting to spend time networking. He added that the League only checks attendees’ membership credentials for voting procedures.