PAIMA By-Laws
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Recent Changes
- 2014 Amendment:
- PAIMA Members must be registered to attend an Annual Convention at least once every other year.
- 2015 Amendment:
- PAIMA Members must notify the PAIMA office, within 30 days, of any changes in ownership or management.
- 2016 – 2017 Amendments
- Penalty fee of $500 will be levied for non-attendance compliance every two years.
- Effective October 2017, all new PAIMA Members must be IAM Members as well to ensure RPP protection for all PAIMA Members.
- No charitable donations of association funds can be approved by the Board of Directors or PAIMA Members for other organizations, institutions or non-governmental organizations.
- 2018 Amendments
- Make “English” the official language of PAIMA.
- Section 2.3 and 2.4 – consolidation of Associate and Active Members into same section.
- In the event that the Board of Directors rejects an Applicant’s Application, the Association shall refund the Applicant Fee paid, less an administrative processing fee of $250.
- Arbitration Assistance: Addition of verbiage below to By-Laws – Section 3.1 (d)
o Both parties in question MUST be Association Members for arbitration assistance
o Requesting Member must provide Association office the following:
a) copy of invoice and amount in question
b) copy of OBL and other documents: (e.g. quotation, receipts, harbor fees, etc.) and other necessary documents
c) e-mail chain with proof of multiple requests for payment
o Association Regional Director will reach out to Member in question to request prompt resolution. Regional Director will NOT present proof to Member in question.
o If no resolution obtained by Regional Director, Executive Director will reach out to Member in question to escalate matter and obtain resolution
o If Association office is not able to solve arbitration issues, Board of Directors will set forth efforts to obtain resolution to dispute.
o If above mentioned steps are not successful, recommend requesting IAM RPP protection assistance. - Section 3.1 (f) – Addition – “New management must inform in writing any management changes related to purchase of Association Member”.
- Section 3.1 (g) – New addition: “If sold ownership is on the Board of Directors, Board of Director Member must resign if new ownership is not an Association member”.
- Section Article VI: Addition of 6.9 – Association insurance: “Insured Persons and Organization: Limit of Liability: a) $1,000,000 aggregate for all Loss (other than Costs, Charges and Expenses b) $1,000,000 maximum aggregate for this coverage section. Employment Practices Liability: 1) Limit of Liability: $1,000,000 maximum aggregate for all Loss (other than Costs, Charges and Expenses) for this coverage section.”
Insured Persons means all persons who were, now are or shall become:
a) a director, officer, trustee, trustee emeritus, governor, executive director, department head or committee member (of a duly constituted committee of the Organization) of the Organization.” - Section 8.1- Addition at the end of the paragraph….or otherwise disqualified to serve, “or death.”
- Section 8.3 – Addition to section (a) Assume and carry out the authorities and duties of the President: (i) during his or her absence or incapacity; and/or (ii) through direct delegation; and/or (iii) when so agreed by the Board of Directors or the General Assembly; and/or after resignation or death of the President.
- Article X – Executive Director – Section 10.1 End of paragraph: “Executive Director duties will include approaching and supporting prospective Association Members; maintaining all Association books and records; providing yearly pre-convention site inspections for convention program activity options and convention budgeting; providing convention activity options and budgeting to the Board of Directors; attendance to other conventions approved by the Board of Directors.”
- 2019 Amendment
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Article III – “RIGHTS & OBLIGATIONS OF THE MEMBERS” – Section 3.7 Termination or Cancellation of Membership. Memberships to the Association can be terminated or cancelled, in any of the following manners:
(e) By the Board of Directors should a Company fail to meet its financial obligations to the Association; and/or failing to meet their financial obligations with another Member.
- 2022 Amendments
- Section 2.2 General Eligibility Standards:
(Add) If Members are cancelled or resigns from IAM, they are automatically cancelled as a PAIMA Member. - 2) Section 2.7 Application Process:
……(f) Applicant must send copies of four (4) bills of lading of international shipments for years in business (two past years or more). - 3) Section 2.7 Application Process: …..In the event that the Board of Directors rejects the Applicant’s Application, the Association shall refund the Application Fee paid, less an administrative processing fee of $250.00 -(Add) Final vote details are to remain internal and confidential. Final vote decision is final with no reconsideration will be made (unless non-approval was related to having enough Members in a specific country, city, area, or region).
- 4) Section 3.2 – Responsibilities and Obligations of Active Members. Active Members shall have the following obligations and responsibilities to the Association:
(d) Members must be registered to attend an Annual Convention at least once every other year. Penalty fee of $500 will be levied for non-attendance compliance every two years. (Add) Exceptions will be made for family emergencies, (documented) illness and/or force majeure. - 5) Section 3.7: Termination or Cancellation of Membership:
(Add) (g) If a Member resigns from the Association due to financial hardship (or other reasons), said Member can re-apply for membership following all established procedures and costs (minus a 10% discount). -
6) Section – ARTICLE VIII – OFFICERS & THEIR DUTIES : 8.6 Special Appointments: (Add)
Regional Directors Expectations/Guidelines: -
1) Within 2 months after convention please call (not e-mail) all convention participating PAIMA Members from your region and ask for feedback from the last convention; good, bad, suggestions/ideas of what could be improved.
2) Encourage all Members to report tonnage and explain the importance of Tonnage Program.
3) Look for QUALIFIED, known, and active new members (Prospective Members that consistently come to IAM) in regions where we have none or just one Member. Encourage them to join PAIMA. Please provide a list of contacted agents and results so the Board of Directors and the PAIMA office can follow up with specific targets during and after convention. Please provide feedback to the PAIMA office by September 1st of each calendar year before our annual convention.
4) Please contact Member Agents who do not attend convention consistently and convince them to come. Inform about non-attendance rule and newly passed penalty fee ($500). Question intentions to stay in PAIMA and be an active Member.
5) Assistance with asking Member Agents in regions to be a convention sponsor.
6) We expect that Regional Directors volunteer time at the PAIMA booth during the IAM Convention. At least 2 hours of booth assistance if not more.
7) All Regional Directors must attend Regional Directors and Board of Directors meetings prior to the start of our yearly PAIMA Convention.
8) Regional Directors are requested to send in specific talking points prior to a convention meeting (Regional Directors and Board of Directors meeting) so they can be added to the meeting agenda. We will be setting aside more than 1 hour for this meeting. Please be prepared for a 2-hour meeting.
9) Regional Directors are requested to assist in identifying potential individuals interested in running for election to the PAIMA – Board of Directors. - 2023 Amendments
- Section 2.7 Application Process (section “g”):
- (Added) The Board of Directors can exercise the right to limit the number of members per country, city, area or region; based on associations growth strategies and business needs in order to protect the current PAIMA member base.
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