TCU MEMBERSHIP RIGHT TO VOTE REFERENDUM

For the past decade members of TCU System Board No. 86, located in
Philadelphia, have experienced the disenfranchisemnt of their voting rights
due to the merging and consolidation of Local Lodges into Districts for the
sole purpose of concentrating the voting power of the members into the power
bases of delegates who ignore the will of the members and follow the dictates
of the few non-membership elected officers at the System Board and
International level of our union. This past decade of political
gerrymandering has served to abrogate the voting rights of all members of
System Board No. 86. Their right to vote for and hold their representatives
accountable has become non-existent.

To put this matter in its true perspective we should remind ourselves that
when we democratically elect our representatives to office in the districts,
towns, cities or states that we belong and live that these representatives
remain our representatives for the term of office that we elected them for
unless their actions are such that their remaining in office is detrimental t
 the citizens as a whole. As a citizen, what would be your reaction if you
elected a mayor in your hometown of Liberty, U.S.A. and two months later the
mayors of other cities got together and decided that your mayor would be
taken out of office and his power to represent you be given to Joe Dictator
in Voteless, U.S.A.

Because of the disenfranchisement of the voting rights of members of System
Board No. 86 over the past decade, District 1218 Chairman Pat Newcomb
presented at the Sytem Board No. 86 Meeting of September 16-17, 1993, an
amendment to change the constitution to allow all members of System Board No.
86 the right to vote for all System Board No. 86 Officers. This amendment was
referred to the International Convention of August 1995 for consideration.

To further promote the right of all members to have the right to vote District Pat Newcomb at the District 1218 Meeting held on Tuesday, March 29, 1994,
introduced an amendment to also change the Constitution to enable all our
members the right to vote for all International Officers. This change will be
promoted by a membership petition for a referendum vote on this issue.

In concert with the proposed amendments, the rank and file members of System
Board No. 86 have formed the Railworkers Union Democracy Alliance. The
primary point of principle of this alliance is to internally democratize our
union in a manner which gives the rank and file members the ability to hold
the officers they elect accountable. They feel that electing officers who
have a direct impact on putting food on their table is the same right they
have as citizens of this country.

All T.C.I.U. members are encouraged to help us in this endeavor to bring the
right to vote for all officers to all our members. those who wish to help
promote this Right to Vote referendum can contact us in the following
manner:

By writing to:	Railworkers Union Democracy Committee (RUDA)
		P. O. Box 30258
		Philadelphia PA  19103

By telephoning:	1-215-271-7654    (Leave message)

By faxing to:	1-215-755-7950

					In Solidarity,
					RUDA Right to Vote Committee

Pat Newcomb, Distict Chairman 1218
Edwina Newcomb, Member District 1218
Jim Capaldi, Chairman Board of trustees District 1218
Rich Dinsmore, Member District 435
Tom Howes, President District 747
Herb Kerekesch, Member Board of Trustees District 747
Tom Kalmeyer, Rank and File Member