By BRIAN
NEARING, Staff writer
May 25,
2004
Insurgents at Albany Laborers Local 190 asked national union leaders Monday to throw out the results of last week's election and order a revote.
Donald Brady,
who was part of a slate that failed Friday to wrest leadership of Local 190
from Business Manager Anthony Fresina, claims Fresina and his supporters won
through ballot abuse.
"I feel
the union (leaders) will have no choice but to deem the election invalid and
order a new one," said Brady, a construction foreman who was part of a
field headed by local President Ramsis Berghela, a one-time Fresina appointee.
Local 190 has
about 1,300 members and is one of the largest labor unions in the area. Former
business manager Sam Fresina was an ally of Mayor Jerry Jennings.
Fresina's son,
Anthony Fresina, was re-elected to his $95,492-a-year post as business manager
by a 336-320 vote over challenger Charles Burometto, and Fresina loyalists won
the presidency and seven of 11 union leadership posts.
In campaign
mailings, the insurgents claimed Sam Fresina and his family were drawing large
paychecks from the union at a time when local rank-and-file raises lagged and
the pension fund dropped in value.
Brady alleged
Fresina swelled the ranks of his supporters at the election by giving
apprentice union members voting rights and letting union members pay lapsed
dues to regain voting eligibility.
Eugene Devine,
a lawyer for the union, said the election was fair and predicted the Laborer's
International Union of North America, headquartered in Washington D.C., will
not overturn it.
"It was
close and I don't blame them for trying, but I think this election
stands," Devine said. He said the insurgent slate didn't file any
objections to voters during the election. He said he was not familiar with
apprentices being provided with last-minute voting rights.