Set March Election In School Bus Local With Organized-Crime Past

A Federal judge has set aside a lawsuit brought by a dissident faction of the scandal-scarred Local 1181 of the Amalgamated Transit Union after the two sides agreed to hold an officers' election in March as a prelude to bringing the school bus drivers' local out of trusteeship.

TOMMY MULLINS: Lashes out at dissidents.

Members for Change sued last month after one of the trustees, Tommy Mullins, said at a membership meeting that elections would not be held before next June.

Was Genovese Family Tool

The trusteeship was imposed two years ago when the two leaders of the local were forced by the Federal Government to step down after being indicted for corrupt practices that included allowing the union to be dominated by the Genovese Crime Family. A leader of the crime family, Matthew "Matty the Horse" Ianniello, had previously pleaded guilty to exerting control over Local 1181's operations.

Members for Change had criticized the trustees for allowing the union's day-to-day operations to be conducted by longtime union officers who had been loyal to ex-President Salvatore Battaglia, who is currently serving a 57-month prison sentence for racketeering and extorting payoffs from school bus contractors. An officers election that was originally supposed to be held seven months ago was postponed by the trustees.

Lawyers for the dissidents had noted in their court papers that union trusteeships are not supposed to last longer than 18 months unless it can be demonstrated that discontinuing one would be harmful to the members' best interests.

After a stipulation was signed by the dissidents and the trustees Nov. 21 agreeing to hold a March election and install new officers the following month, Mr. Mullins went on the offensive.

"This lawsuit should never have been brought," he said in a statement. "It was nothing more than an attempt to distract us from the work of building this local and fighting for our members in difficult economic times."

The dissidents have accused Mr. Mullins of failing to adequately represent union members, citing Local 1181's silence after the Daily News lambasted one driver as a "bozo" for leaving a child stranded at the wrong stop even though the problem resulted because a school official allowed the 5-year-old to board her bus by mistake. Eddie Kay, a veteran organizer who has assisted Members for Change, also criticized him for taking no action to block layoffs caused by route reductions earlier in the school year.