| Structure, Election Process, and Responsibilities |
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Consumers Union (CU) is governed by an 18-member volunteer Board of Directors, one third of which is elected annually for
a three-year term. The Board meets three times a year.
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Nominations for the Board are solicited each year in the October issue of Consumer Reports magazine. Each nomination requires a resume.
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In the spring, paid and online subscribers to Consumer Reports receive an Annual Ballot and Questionnaire. As part of that ballot, subscribers are asked to vote either yes or no for a
slate of six candidates selected by a Board Nominating Committee and approved by a majority of those members of the Board
who are not up for re-election that year. Board members are generally limited to four three-year terms.
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CU's bylaws require that the directors have "no such connections with commercial, business, manufacturing, or financial enterprises
as are likely to affect their independent judgment as directors."
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The Board is charged with "the general management of the property, affairs, and activities" of CU. It determines CU's major
policies, approves the budget, and monitors CU's operations.
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Only CU's editorial, technical, and other staff--not the Board--decides what is tested and published in Consumer Reports and in/on CU's other publications/services. If, on occasion, CU taps the expertise of one of its 18 Board members, the relationship
is no different than it is with any other source.
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A paid subscriber becomes a member of CU by sending in a nomination for the Board of Directors, by voting in the annual election
of CU's directors, or by written request. CU members are invited to attend CU's annual meeting, held in October at the Consumer Reports National Testing and Research Center in Yonkers, New York.
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| Contact information |
To ensure prompt attention to the public's concerns, CU suggests that anyone wishing to communicate with Board members write
a letter addressed to them c/o:
Board of Directors
Consumers Union
P.O Box JBS
101 Truman Ave.
Yonkers, NY 10703
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