Headlines say the FBIs are conducting searches of homes and other offices and facilities.
Something besides their normal, run-of-the-mill corrupt activities?
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Headlines say the FBIs are conducting searches of homes and other offices and facilities.
Something besides their normal, run-of-the-mill corrupt activities?
Do you have a link? Thanks.
Thanks.
LOL at the neighbor with the Swarovski binoculars. Bottom shelf model is around $1700.00. Wonder what else he watches.
Throw him in jail for having an ugly house
That will be the defense attorney's opening statement:Quote:
Originally Posted by Meddle
"This was just our normal run-of-the-mill corruption. Expensive trinkets. There are no bodies to dig up these days."
hahahahaha:cool:Quote:
Originally Posted by JonWylie
The scheme redirected millions of dollars meant for worker training to goodies for former union and company officials. Nine people have been charged so far.
.......
The whole we represent the workers so they get a fair break while in the process insuring that they do not seems to be par to the course.
Raids in St Louis too.
The UAW are doing more the promoting solidarity.
The timing of this couldn't be worse, with contract negotiations.
The rank and file deserve better leaders than these crooks.
The Williams' cabin?Quote:
Originally Posted by JonWylie
I kinda like it. It's got a nice 3-season porch with a fireplace, heated floors, and a master bedroom with a secret room.
https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2...unds&auto=webp
https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2...680&fit=bounds
I saw something where they said the corruption claim was just a cover story, the FBI are really looking for Jimmy Hoffa?
Attachment 38843
Some of this reminds me of the Rodney Dangerfield one-liner, "My dad was so dumb he got fired from the bank for stealing pencils."
From what I can gather this set of raids surrounds misappropriating UAW office funds, 'flower funds', 'president's fund' and perhaps other items that UAW staff get hit up for. In other words pilferage compared to the larger FCA-UAW Training Center scam but still substantial. Even the Training Center scam is chicken feed compared to something like the legendary mafia raids of the Teamster pension funds in the 1970's. Of course if these raids link to the broader Training Center scandal, then it gets serious.
As for a presidential retirement house, an ongoing benefit, that, along with the president's salary, is not at all excessive when put beside benefits received by corporate presidents of similar-sized multi-billion dollar operations. Such a corporation couldn't hire a mid-level executive, let alone a CEO, for what the UAW pays its president--$200K.
However perception is everything and what is pilfering looks like a lot to the average line worker. It has also destroyed faith in the union leadership which, in my opinion, should be demanding direct election of their president and independent audits.
Finally, I agree with those above regarding the smelly timing of this round of raids just as contract negotiations begin.
Always astonished that organizations this large, whether corporations, non-profits, etc. don't have proper external auditing. It's especially troublesome with the UAW, an organization with a long history of corruption.
Probably doesn't help the UAW's cause to keep the current leadership in place. Instead of cleaning house, the UAW is allowing the federal government to do it. In the end, look at the Teamsters how this mess will end....25 years of federal oversight
Well put Lowell.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lowell
And their headquarters gutted by fire last month.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cincinnati_Kid
Public corporations have pretty tight financial controls and reporting requirements, especially those incorporated in Delaware. Non-profits generally do not, as they do not take investment capital.Quote:
Originally Posted by 401don
This is why, when you see modern corporate scandals, they usually involve complicated schemes - derivatives trading, messing with futures valuations, stuff like that. When you see a scandal with a non-profit, it's stuff like this - an executive funneling money where it shouldn't be going.
So, yeah, they can get away with all kinds of shenanigans.
People, outside of the Unions, wonder what in the heck is going on. Pigs at the trough. Trump wins?
I hadn't heard about the HQ fire. Proactive destruction?Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeM
The UAW was good to me when I was young so I look the other way at this stuff today. Back in the 1970’s I worked at the old Chrysler Vernor Tool & Die plant, just north of the Jefferson Assembly plant, first as an apprentice then as a die maker. The UAW took care of us skilled trades guys.
Attachment 38848
The Big Three couldn't come up with a better scheme to discredit the UAW than what UAW leaders are doing to their own union.
And that's why corporations and politicians get away with it. No one should ever 'look the other way'. That's as criminal as the act itself.Quote:
Originally Posted by CassTechGrad
The most telling thing about this is how little is being said about the Fiat Chrysler role. Corporate media protecting their own.
Laptop charging station possibly. Sprinkler system doused the entire building. Weekend fire with no one there. DFD had a hard time getting in.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wesley Mouch
The Fiat/Chrysler part of the investigation is pretty much done. IIRC they were the first to be charged last year. Now they are working their way up the UAW food chain.Quote:
Originally Posted by rb336
https://www.detroitnews.com/picture-...al/2904726002/
https://jalopnik.com/uaw-vice-presid...nda-1836996467
The Detroit News published this list of convictions in June:
- Fiat Chrysler Vice President Alphons Iacobelli was sentenced to 5 1/2 years
- Fiat Chrysler financial analyst Jerome Durden was sentenced to 15 months
- Michael Brown, a former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles executive who helped run the UAW-Chrysler National Training Center, was sentenced to one year and a day in prison
- Monica Morgan-Holiefield, widow of the late UAW Vice President General Holiefield, was sentenced in July 2018 to 18 months - UAW official Nancy Adams Johnson was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison
- UAW official Keith Mickens was sentenced to a year and a day in prison
- UAW official Virdell King was sentenced to 60 days
Sprinklers no doubt destroyed a lot of paperwork that wasn't burn up. Too bad. There might be been evidence proving this was all a corporate conspiracy.Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeM
Hammer on the nail here....Quote:
Originally Posted by Meddle
UAW official charged with embezzlement
The Voice|2 hours ago
A Missouri-based member of the UAW International Executive Board has been charged with embezzling union funds by the U.S. Attorneys Office in Detroit. The scheme, federal law enforcement authorities ...
http://www.voicenews.com/news/state/...d5466b0c6.html
-------------------------------------
UAW official Vance Pearson, others, accused of embezzling thousands
ClickOnDetroit|7 hours ago
Charles, Miss., was arrested Thursday by federal agents in Missouri after being charged in a federal criminal complaint with taking part in a multiyear conspiracy to embezzle thousands of dollars ...
https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/...ling-thousands
----------------------------------------
Director of UAW Region 5, successor to union chief Jones, charged in corruption probe
Detroit Free Press|22 hours ago
The current director of the UAW region covering 17 states from Missouri to California has been arrested and charged in the federal government's ongoing corruption investigation of the union, ...
https://www.freep.com/story/money/ca...es/2302899001/
Not much business is done on paper anymore. Most paper content is created on computers. Computers are networked and backed up. Those backups are offsite, if the UAW's IT department is doing it's job. An onsite fire should not bring down a modern organization's records.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wesley Mouch
UAW: We will strike now, GM.
GM: Strike while your leaders embezzle millions.
^^^ While nondescript vehicles roll off the assembly line [[exempting Buick which is a very good offering IMO).
Still wish they'd kept Pontiac instead. Doesn't matter, they're all overpriced.Quote:
Originally Posted by Zacha341
China gets what China wants! :oQuote:
Originally Posted by Cincinnati_Kid
[[and it wasn't Pontiac)
Keeping this delegate system to elect nearly all UAW officials was the root cause that allowed the corruption. Even at this late hour, the membership has zero authority to remove these corrupted officials.
I thought that the plant in Hamtramck had closed earlier this year
The rot has officially gone all the way to the top.
Feds say UAW President Jones, aide schemed to embezzle, split $700K in dues
Detroit — United Auto Workers President Gary Jones and a top aide were accused Thursday of conspiring to embezzle as much as $700,000 in member dues and splitting the money, according to a new criminal filing that marked a dramatic escalation of a years-long corruption investigation.
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/bu...al/4108832002/
'Power Corrupts...'Quote:
Originally Posted by Lowell
Until we remove monopoly status from Unions, there is no way to stop corruption -- because they have unchecked power.
Members have no choice. They should be able to have a second union come in if they wish. There has to be some way for members to hold their Union accountable. Otherwise, the power is in the Union's hands, and the members have no power.
In principle, unions are a really good thing looking out for the working stiff. Unfortunately, like governments bureaucracies, they become more interested in the survival and advancement of the bureaucracy than in what they are supposed to represent. Just like the VA in government, so also the unions.
Unions, businesses, governments ....Quote:
Originally Posted by Wesley Mouch
Breaking news...
UAW president takes leave of absence amid corruption investigation
UAW President Gary Jones is taking a leave of absence as prosecutors in a widening corruption investigation appear to be closing in on possible charges against him.
Rory Gamble, the vice president in charge of the UAW's Ford Motor Co. department, will be acting president, the UAW said Saturday. Both changes are effective Sunday.
The union's International Executive Board held an emergency meeting earlier Saturday in which Jones asked for the leave of absence, according to an email from Jones to union employees that was obtained by Automotive News.
https://www.crainsdetroit.com/automo...-investigation
The UAW has refused to get rid of their Soviet style Politburo delegate system of electing officials. A direct election of their officers by the members was and still is forbidden by the UAW constitution. Now comes the Federal government with likely RICO charges and 25+ years of federal oversight of the union .. .
Yes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Meddle
The important question is 'what checks the power for each'?
Unions... not much -- members [[once they've been certified) can't do much. Voting out bums, but only if they know they're being cheated -- which is very hard due to lack of financial transparency.
Businesses... if employees or owners embezzle, the market punishes them as they either have to raise their prices [[to cover lost funds) or lower profits to owners [[who redeploy their capital elsewhere where returns don't include embezzlement losses).
Government... Probably the worst place for embezzlement, since there isn't much of a check. Whistleblowers can help. And at least at the local level people can move to a city where their taxes are lower and services better [[because cash isn't going into waste.).
Your point, Meddle, is good.
Is it just the law of this country that all terrible people get paid leave instead of suffering actual consequences? Sure seems like it.
https://eurweb.com/2019/11/03/a-salu...uaw-president/
*Detroit, MI – In the wake of the decision of the United Auto Workers [[UAW) International Board to select its vice president to become its new president, the Rev. Horace L. Sheffield, III, releases the following statement:
“In October 1959, at the UAW Constitutional Convention, held in Atlantic City, New Jersey, my father rose to nominate Willoughby Abner for the vice presidency of the UAW, and thereby, if he won, making Abner the first African American to serve on the UAW Board. In his nominating of Abner my father declared, ‘Here it is that I go all over the south representing this union in the civil rights movement, bailing civil rights workers out of jail, and marching to eliminate Jim Crow and alas right here in my own union a black cannot even serve on the board of the UAW. Therefore, I rise today to place into nomination the name of Willoughby Abner for Vice President of the UAW.”
It wasn’t until 1962, three years later that an African American, Nelson Jack Edwards, was elected to the UAW Board, and thirteen years later, that the same person became the first African American vice president of the UAW. I bring all this back to our attention because as we celebrate this historic event, Rory Gamble [[pictured above) becoming the UAW’s first African American president, it’s important for us to note the road that was paved and the shoulders he has had to stand upon for this to come to fruition.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wesley Mouch
You can say the same for Politicians. The people have no power. We're all witnesses to that.
And the UAW has been in steady decline ever since!Quote:
Originally Posted by Hypestyles
Few things piss me off more than corruption in the unions, mostly because I immediately compare these fucking greedy pigs to average working stiffs like my dad. My father put in nearly 40 years on the line and was the hardest working and most honest man I've ever known. Of course I'm prejudiced, but I doubt if he ever even took a bolt or a screw home from the plant. If he did, he probably dashed off to confession at the earliest opportunity.
My dad was just one of several family members who collected UAW pensions after decades of often mind-numbing labor on the line, and there was no prouder union man. He dropped out of school in the fifth grade during the Depression and was pretty much a lost soul until he managed to snag a job at Dodge Main. He was always so appreciative of what the union did for him and so many others like him. I can remember a couple times in the '50s and '60s when Chrysler was on strike and the union took care of us kids at Christmas. Walter Reuther was my dad's hero. He had three framed photos on the wall near the furnace inside our Detroit home: JFK, Pope John XXIII, and Reuther. Yep, the Holy Trinity.
You'll have to excuse my nostalgia. Dad's been on my mind lately. He would be 100 years old this Dec. 27, so we're kicking around the idea of throwing some kind of "Eddie Bak Centennial"---a basement gathering of loud, silly, sentimental Polacks with the usual poker, kielbasa, lime vodka, etc.
The attached photo is of my dad as he left to go to work at Dodge Truck early one winter morning in 1973. He's got the usual bleary-eyed look and that black lunch pail he'd had since probably 1957 or so. I took it with my new Polaroid camera. I'd just gotten home from a 12-hour shift as a spot welder at Dodge Truck [[mandatory OT back then, and vans were selling like crazy), and I remember Dad joking: "Baks work 'round the clock." Well, not this Bak---I left for the Marines a couple weeks later, and aside from a short spell at the Rouge in '78, never returned to the line. But I've always considered myself a solid union man and have never crossed a picket line. In fact, I've never bought anything but a Big 3 car, though I know most people will argue there's no really such thing as an American-Man car anymore.
While I'm on my little nostalgia trip, I can recommend a fine documentary about the three Reuther brothers and the rise of the UAW and how it built the middle class. It's called "Brothers on the Line." Here's a link: http://www.brothersontheline.com
Attachment 39183
hopefully mr. Gamble will right the ship with ethics standards. The next formal election may end up being fractious, which will likely add to the negative morale within union worker ranks.
Thanks for the story. It sounds like something Studs Terkel would have written. I'd like to see more stories like that here.Quote:
Originally Posted by rickbak
We need to remember that "corruption in the unions" is deliberately fomented by anti-unionists. That doesn't excuse it, but greedy capitalist hands wring gleefully whenever that phrase is uttered. ;)
Gary Jones out at the UAW. Hard to believe that it took this long.
Not a good look for the industry as a whole.
https://www.freep.com/story/money/ca...ks/4248317002/
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/20/b...gtype=Homepage
To add to the the UAW's stained reputation and woes this story will keep UAW corruption in news. Most interesting to me is the claim that Sergio Marchionne was not only in the know but a central figure. I always found FCA's attempts to paint this as a rogue operation unbelievable.
I don't recall an auto company suing another before. Anybody?
GM lawsuit accuses Fiat Chrysler of labor racketeering
Lawsuit also names three former FCA execs in ongoing corruption probe involving UAW
GM claims actions in collective bargaining process caused it "substantial damages"
Complaint alleges late FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne "was a central figure" in "fraudulent activity"
It should piss you off. But you shouldn't be surprised. It must be painfully clear to even the most ardent union supporter that something is wrong with the way we have organized our organized labor in the US. Canada seems to have the same problems. The unions have successfully fought off open disclosure requirements for their spending over that way. Without visibility to Union finances, and without any competition for workers [[closed shops, only one union per company), expect this to repeat and repeat and repeat. There's no reason to expect improvement -- just more flyswatting.Quote:
Originally Posted by rickbak
Here we go again. New President Rory Gamble is under a cloud. History of personal finance issues and connections to a union swag contractor are being probed.
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/bu...on/2803804001/
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lowell
When does it end? This probably has been going on for years.
Years? Since the beginning of Unions. They've always been synonymous with organized crime, violence and corruption.
But keep in mind that virtually every adult in the world has committed acts that could be subject to investigation. The complex legal systems are virtually impossible to avoid crossing.
This is not a traditional union/organized crime scandal, ala the Teamsters of old. Rather is crony system of pilfering, albeit some hefty pilfering in some cases. Compared to the multimillion dollar heist the mob pulled on the Teamsters this more like getting fired for stealing pencils from a bank.Quote:
Originally Posted by Meddle
Good point. Unions will really be scrutinized more than ever now. It's a shame, because in the past they did good things for this country by increasing wages, for everybody.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lowell
Ex-UAW leader Jones pleads guilty
"On Wednesday, Gary Jones admitted his role in a corruption scheme that tarnished the union's clean image.
"Jones will now need to cooperate with prosecutors as the case proceeds if he hopes to secure a shorter prison sentence.
"In a federal court proceeding Wednesday, Jones apologized and said he had violated the law as well as his sworn obligation to his members."
https://freep-mi.newsmemory.com?publ...0c13e8_13436c0
S'CUUZZEE Me? How's that again? 'Union's **clean** image? Is that what that said?Quote:
Originally Posted by Lowell
Until the current round of corruption, the UAW was considered a clean union. I don't recall any scandals, certainly not that the top levels prior to this.Quote:
Originally Posted by Meddle
This is the best thing I read all week. F'ing awesome.
I'm a union man and these idiots in the UAW just piss me off. Always acting the big dog in town and here the go after giving us Right to Work, they're now trying to kill the union image in corruption.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rickbak
I can't believe Jones justs gets 5 f_ckin years in prison for stealing over a million dollars, and if a guy gets busted with weed or coke, he gets 10-20 minimum. The system needs to be overhauled. It's B.S.
UAW reaches corruption deal with feds
An independent monitor will help root out corruption in the United Auto Workers union and members will decide if they will vote directly on the union's leadership under a reform agreement with the U.S. Attorney's office.
...
The deal was announced Monday by U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider and UAW President Rory Gamble in the wake of a wide-ranging federal investigation into corruption. It holds off a possible federal takeover of the 400,000-member union.
The monitor will stay in place for six years.
https://www.crainsdetroit.com/manufa...tion-deal-feds
Yeah, it's worth noting that in effect unionism was outlawed by the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 because it was doing too much good for everybody.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cincinnati_Kid
So much for socialized unions. They used to have all the power in Detroit. They even endorse certain Detroit Mayors. Now they are has been and corps. got right where they want them.
Unions are for socialism and solidarity, It's not a greedy corporation or creating collusion incorporation.
The UAW gets its spanking.
It must get an independent monitor within the next 90 days for a six-year period of oversight, pay a $1.5 million fine and make potential changes to its election process after prosecutors found evidence of rampant corruption among top union officers.
"According to the consent decree, the union must also submit three candidates for the position of adjudications officer "no less than 30 days" after the monitor is appointed. Like the monitor, the government can either approve one or seek additional options but must approve one within 60 days of receiving the initial candidates.
"Once the monitor is appointed, the union has half a year to hold a referendum vote on whether or not to allow for the direct election of officers. If the vote passes, the goal would be to implement the one-member, one-vote system in time for the UAW's next constitutional convention in June 2022. UAW President Rory Gamble is prohibited from running again due to age limits and has indicated he wishes to retire."
https://www.crainsdetroit.com/manufa...s-name-monitor
As a former UAW and Teamster member, I like direct election of President vs. the behind the scenes selection by conventions. However I hope this comes with term limits of no more than, say, ten years.
Most of the UAW's income derives from its investment portfolio. Income from membership dues is less important. As a result, the leadership serves Wall Street rather than the rank-and-file. Same is probably true for most, if not all, other unions.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lowell
Wily members seek office because it's a cozier and more lucrative fate than working on the factory floor. Once in office they do anything and everything to avoid ever returning to honest work -- even murder in the case of Teamsters -- preferring the life of ladies who lunch. So yes, term limits are necessary.
But as I see it, the larger problem with American labor is this:
Workers are outlaws but they don't act like outlaws. Prior to the Wagner Act of 1935, workers were de facto illegal -- not possessing the same protections [[e.g., from cruel and unusual punishment) and same rights of free speech, press, assembly, petition, etc., as other citizens. Prior to 1935, labor activity was dangerous, heroic, not for the knavish, etc.
After 1935, workers had their freedoms for a dozen years until the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 de jure abridged them. And for the last 74 years, workers have been outlawed but either haven't noticed or forgotten it. To wit, secondary boycotts and sympathy strikes were outlawed in 1947, so labor doesn't engage in them because it hasn't embraced [[or more correctly re-embraced) its outlaw nature.
Attachment 41250
Labor racketeer former UAW Chief to be sentenced June 10. I do hope they throw away the key.
What'd The UAW Do Now?
Look for the body of Jimmy Hoffa. And the Mafia boss that killed him!