Federal government and UAW reach deal on reforms after corruption investigation

A federal judge has signed off on an agreement between the U.S. Attorney’s office and the United Auto Workers union that settles a long-running corruption investigation and dictates reforms.

A consent decree was signed Friday, Jan. 29 by U.S. District Judge David Lawson in the Eastern District of Michigan.

The decree settles a federal lawsuit filed in December under the Anti-Fraud Injunction Act that alleged a pattern of corruption over more than 10 years by certain UAW officials -- including $1.5 million in “kickbacks” for steering contracts to certain vendors, concealing personal expenses as business expenses that were then paid by union accounts, routing funds to to former union officers in exchange for support in election campaigns and other fraud.

Under the settlement terms, the UAW has agreed to: “the appointment of an independent monitor to keep tabs on the union’s financial affairs, a member referendum to ratify new methods of electing IEB members, and payments by the former union officials to satisfy their unpaid tax liabilities.”

The IEB is elected international leadership team for the UAW.

Nearly 15 former officials and spouses have been charged or convicted as part of the UAW scandal since 2017, including former UAW President Gary Jones.

Earlier this week, an ex-UAW manager was sentenced to a year in prison.

Federal prosecutors alleged that Edward “Nick” Robinson, 73, helped at least 15 other executives and UAW employees skim millions from union coffers over a nine-year period to lavish themselves with cash and other luxuries.

In the decree approved Friday, the judge wrote “the settlement represents a fair, adequate, and reasonable agreement to resolve substantial claims for civil liability premised on the same fraudulent conduct for which various individuals already have been criminally convicted.”

“The terms of the settlement include significant financial sanctions for the harm caused and provisions that should deter the repetition of similar conduct,” he wrote.

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