Cohousing-L Mailing List: seniority/leave of absence

[Judy (BAXTER%EPIHUB]

Angie McGowan wrote:

-I don't know what you mean by seniority.  It must be important if you need
-to maintain it,even at the cost of not going on holiday.  But we've managed
-to get by without so far without any of us having it (or even knowing we
-needed it).
-
-Can anyone explain what it is and what the implications are if you lose it
-(or have never had it)?
 in response to:

=Dan Ardoin 
=
=How have other groups delt with member requests for leave of absence?  
=Specifically, can a member maintain seniority in the group and for a 
=time not pay monthly dues and not attend meetings.  How do other groups 
=feel about this?  How have others handled this type of situation?
=Is there some creative solution out there or is this something that 
=groups cannot allow?
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I suspect Dan is talking about seniority with respect to choosing
homes/sites/units etc.  I think it refers to the development process, when
people join the group at different times, and put in money and time up front. 
And I can see where leave of absence comes up in a long process.

Our group has had people take a "leave" from active contribution to the group,
either because of conflicts or burnout or both.  One member did suspect paying
dues for a while when she lost her job, but she continued very active
contributions and we agreed to accept some work instead of dues.  No one has
ever discussed loss of seniority, but so far we have avoided dealing with
seniority - people's needs and priorities were pretty different in unit
selection.
judy
Judy Baxter, Monterey Cohousing Community, (MoCoCo)
Twin Cities Area, Minneapolis/St.Paul Minnesota
e-mail: baxter [at] epivax.epi.umn.edu