US autoworkers have not been immune from union corruption either. Courts have recently found top UAW officials guilty of embezzling union dues money in collusion with auto company executives. What sort of corruption have workers faced? Reporters Ed White and Tom Krisher last year looked at the charges of conspiring to embezzle money for golf, vacation villas, and fine dining filed against former United Auto Workers President Dennis Williams. UAW members will be voting, under the watch of a federal monitor, on whether to amend their constitution to directly elect union leaders. Despite the scandal, support for the UAW within worker ranks remains high.
Dennis Williams is the 15th person to be charged in an investigation of the senior ranks of the venerable labor union. It has revealed crooked ties between officials and executives at Fiat Chrysler and luxuries rarely enjoyed by the UAW's blue-collar members whose dues were squandered...
Williams retired as UAW president in 2018, handing the reins to Gary Jones, who was promoted to the top job from the union's St. Louis-area regional office... The allegations against Williams mirror the case against Jones: a brazen scheme to use member dues for villas in Palm Springs, California, boozy meals, premium cigars, and golf.
The conspiracy began in 2010 when Williams was treasurer and continued when he became president in 2014... With about 400,000 members, the Detroit-based UAW is best known for representing workers at Fiat Chrysler, General Motors, and Ford Motor...
The Williams case "is a sad day for UAW members. But it is also a humbling day of truth and justice demonstrating that no one is above the law, regardless of their position," the union said.
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