UPDATE: Work at Stellantis plant to resume after deal with UAW
Stellantis said that operations at the plant in Kokomo would resume late Monday after UAW Local 1166 workers voted to ratify the agreement.
Stellantis said that operations at the plant in Kokomo would resume late Monday after UAW Local 1166 workers voted to ratify the agreement.
Members of the United Auto Workers union have overwhelmingly approved picking their leaders by direct ballot elections, rejecting a system that many blamed for a bribery and embezzlement scandal in the union’s top ranks.
The United Auto Workers union said 61% of its members approved the deal with Deere & Co. on their third vote, even though the new offer was strikingly similar to one that 55% of workers rejected two weeks ago.
After putting a herd of UAW officials in prison, federal prosecutors said Friday they’re sharing additional evidence with a court-appointed watchdog who has authority to pursue other misconduct inside the union.
For workers at GM and other automakers, the future could be perilous. The more environmentally focused plants of the future will need significantly fewer workers, mainly because electric vehicles contain 30% to 40% fewer moving parts than petroleum-run vehicles.
In the latest punishment in what the government calls “systemic” corruption at the highest ranks of the union, 11 union officials and a late official’s spouse have pleaded guilty since 2017, including former presidents Dennis Williams and Gary Jones.
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.
General Motors is asking a federal judge to reconsider his dismissal of a lawsuit based on new allegations that Fiat Chrysler bribed union officials and GM employees with millions stashed in secret foreign bank accounts.
United Auto Workers represents about 150,000 workers employed by Ford, Fiat Chrysler and General Motors, but it also includes casino workers, university graduate assistants and others.
Gary Jones acknowledged that he falsified expenses from 2012 to 2017 when he was a regional UAW director. He was promoted to president in 2018 but quit after 17 months as the federal investigation intensified.
The United Auto Workers union has been pushing for factories to close because workers are fearful of coming into contact with the coronavirus.
Former UAW President Gary Jones is accused of conspiring with others at the union to embezzle more than $1 million. The court filing against Jones describes a scheme to pocket cash and enjoy luxuries, including $13,000 in cigars.
A United Auto Workers union member said the threat of parts shortages at GM facilities is growing, but the automaker doesn’t expect to have to pause production at plants in Indiana, Michigan and Texas, according to spokesman.
The ratification means the United Auto Workers union has settled with all three Detroit automakers. Fiat Chrysler has a workforce of 8,156 in Indiana at four plants in Kokomo and one plant in Tipton.
The United Auto Workers union has replaced its auditing firm, added four internal auditors and hired a big accounting firm to study its financial controls in an effort to prevent a repeat of the embezzlement and bribery discovered in a federal probe of the union.
The United Auto Workers and Fiat Chrysler reached a tentative agreement Saturday on a new four-year contract that includes a total of $9 billion in investments but still needs final approval from workers.
General Motors is alleging that its crosstown rival got an unfair business advantage by bribing officials of the United Auto Workers union.
With General Motors and Ford out of the way, the United Auto Workers union wants a similar deal from Fiat Chrysler, which has a workforce of 8,156 in Indiana at four plants in Kokomo and one plant in Tipton.
The four-year agreement gives workers a mix of pay raises and lump-sum payments as well as a $9,000 ratification bonus.
A retired vice president of the United Auto Workers union on Wednesday became the 13th person to be charged in a growing federal investigation of corruption at the union and auto companies.