Brother Denis Lemelin
Members of the National Executive Board
Local Executive Committees
Members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers

Brothers and Sisters:

On behalf of the Independent Working Group on CUPW structure, we are pleased to submit to you “What we heard: Issues and options for making the CUPW stronger and more efficient”.

This document is the result of hundreds of consultations with CUPW members and officers at all levels in all regions of the country undertaken by the Independent Working Group between January and June 2009.

This interim report does 3 things:

1. It identifies 27 key challenges facing CUPW based on what CUPW members across the country have shared with us; 
2. It describes some of the key issues involved in each challenge; 
3. It outlines a range of options for each challenge, pointing out some of the main advantages and disadvantages for each.

Please note that this interim report does not contain any recommendations from the Independent Working Group.

It summarizes what we have learned from you, and presents some options to consider.

In many areas there is a widely shared view of the challenges facing the union. In a few areas, there is also widespread agreement about what to do.

In most areas, however, there are lots of different ideas about what the challenges are, and how to address them.

The Independent Working Group encourages all CUPW members to use our interim report as a way to begin a serious and open debate about how to help the union grow stronger and more effective in defending the interests of its members.

We will be conducting a further round of consultations over the next few months, and will be interested in your comments and observations in light of this, our interim report. Those comments will help guide us in drafting our final report, including our recommendations, which will be submitted to the NEB in January 2010.

We hope CUPW brothers and sisters find this document of use in your search for a better union.

Nycole Turmel
Coordinator
Independent Working Group on CUPW structure

Bev Burke
Member

Peter Larson
Member