It's a disappointing fact that many unions and union officials allow the power entrusted to them by their members to turn them into organizations and leaders ripe with corruption - and the UAW is no exception.
The Detroit Free Press ran a series of articles, titled "A Rift in the Ranks", detailing the alleged union-wide corruption of the UAW. Claims came in from union members all over the country accusing the UAW of everything from payroll padding to misuse of funds. Bob King, a retired UAW official, told the publication that "members are making their complaints public because it's not the UAW it was or should be." These allegations led to official investigations of various locals by the U.S. Department of Labor and the FBI.
In the last 10 years, the UAW has made headlines for embezzlement, extortion, falsification and harassment. Most recently, a bargaining committee chairman for a UAW local was sentenced to two years of probation, including six months of home detention for embezzling over $40,000 from the local.
For more information on the UAW's corruption, visit the National Legal and Policy Center's Union Corruption Update (the page may take a few moments to load). |
