What'd the UAW Do Now?

[rickbak]

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

[Hypestyles]

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.

[Jimaz]

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....

Thanks for the story. It sounds like something Studs Terkel would have written. I'd like to see more stories like that here.

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.

[EastsideAl]

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

[Lowell]

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"

[Wesley Mouch]

Few things piss me off more than corruption in the unions, mostly because I immediately compare these fucking greedy pigs to average working stiffs ...snip...

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.

[Lowell]

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/

[Cincinnati_Kid]

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/

When does it end? This probably has been going on for years.

[Meddle]

Years? Since the beginning of Unions. They've always been synonymous with organized crime, violence and corruption.

[Meddle]

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.

[Lowell]

Years? Since the beginning of Unions. They've always been synonymous with organized crime, violence and corruption.

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.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

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.

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.

[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

[Meddle]

that tarnished the union's clean image.

S'CUUZZEE Me? How's that again? 'Union's **clean** image? Is that what that said?

[Lowell]

S'CUUZZEE Me? How's that again? 'Union's **clean** image? Is that what that said?

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.

[DeLemur]

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.

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

[Cincinnati_Kid]

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.

[Lowell]

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

[Henry Whalley]

It's a shame, because in the past they did good things for this country by increasing wages, for everybody.

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.

[Danny]

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.

[Lowell]

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.

[Henry Whalley]

The UAW gets its spanking

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.

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.

[Henry Whalley]

Labor racketeer former UAW Chief to be sentenced June 10. I do hope they throw away the key.

[Danny]

What'd The UAW Do Now?

Look for the body of Jimmy Hoffa. And the Mafia boss that killed him!