Federal corruption investigation results in first main overhaul of UAW elections in 70 years

Detroit – A federal corruption investigation Joining the United Auto Workers has revolutionized union elections, probably ending a greater than 70-year management dynasty by which current leaders accepted bribes and embezzled thousands and thousands in member dues and cash. did.

UAW members and retirees voted straight from a weighted, representative-based system, or “one member, one vote,” election to exchange the union’s strategy of electing leaders, in accordance with preliminary outcomes revealed Thursday by the court-appointed UAW Monitor. Voted for.

The Monitor reported that 63.7% of the 140,586 votes supported the adoption of a “one member, one vote” system, with 36.3% preferring the established order.

Both the monitor and the vote, which nonetheless must be licensed, have been the results of an settlement between the US Department of Justice and the federal authorities. to end corruption investigations It jailed 15 individuals, together with two current UAW presidents and three Fiat Chrysler executives.

Officials say it’s unclear how the brand new voting system will have an effect on firms with UAWs, notably employees represented by Detroit automakers. Current leaders can stay in energy as a slate backed by one celebration or run independently. Union management may additionally change, making a wild card state of affairs for firms and probably inserting inexperienced or extra belligerent bargainers in management positions.

“There could be one or more or all of the new leadership at the top of the consortium once the election is over,” stated Kristin Dzizek, senior vp of analysis on the Center for Automotive Research. “Whoever wins, the caucus or the non-caucus, the end result for firms is that these are going to be the individuals who need to present worth to membership with the intention to be re-elected. The method to maintain onto their energy is to indicate employees. To make higher contracts.”

The UAW’s change comes amid a growing union movement in the country that includes strikes by organized workers, many of whom want to be compensated for largely working during the coronavirus pandemic in critical industries such as manufacturing and healthcare. They’re also taking advantage of the support of President Joe Biden, who has loud and persistent Organized supported unions and workers.

The first direct elections are scheduled for 2022, a year before crucial contract talks General Motors, ford motor And stellantis (previously Fiat Chrysler).

The UAW is broken up into an international and local groups. Drives international union operations and leads national bargaining and organizing efforts. It is headed by a group called the “International Executive Board” or IEB, which is made up of elected union officials.

The new voting system would replace the system where local union representatives cast a weighted vote based on the size of their membership to elect international leaders. The leaders have participated as slates with little or no protest for decades.

While local union members choose their representatives, many have criticized the process as a rubber stamp for outcomes that had already been pre-determined by a leadership group called the Reuther Administrative Caucus. Is.

The group is named after prominent UAW leader Walter Reuther, who maintained the presidency through that system from 1946 until his death in 1970. Whatever slate of leaders the caucus-backed leaders have since led the union has inevitably won an overwhelming majority.

Proponents of the UAW’s traditional system have for decades touted the union’s peaceful and smooth transfer of power as a major advantage. Critics say it allowed leaders to choose their successors and encouraged local representatives to join caucuses or support them in hopes of being given a position in an international union with a higher salary.

The annual salary of international union leaders can be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Even small rolls of servicing representatives, assistants and organizers can easily reach up to $100,000.

Scott Hallidson, a Ford employee in Indiana who has served as a delegate at three previous UAW conventions, said the previous election process also allowed leaders to act without accountability. He believes the system has “bred” recent corruption.

Halldison, who has been a vocal proponent of “one member, one vote”, has voted against the Reuther Administrative Caucus for voicing “boos” during the last three UAW conventions. He is now part of a caucus called Unite All Workers for Democracy, which plans to challenge the Reuther Administrative Caucus next year.

“The purpose we assist this a lot is as a result of we have to construct accountability into our programs,” he said during a phone interview. “I felt that our worldwide management was not representing one of the best curiosity of our membership.”

The impact of the new election system on UAW members as well as companies depends on how the new process is implemented, according to Frank Goedecke, a senior lecturer in management at Wayne State University in Detroit.

“The satan is at all times within the particulars, which might have an effect on how it is going to occur,” said Goedeke, who co-authored a book about UAVs. “I believe with one member one vote, I believe officers might be extra conscious of how the membership will really feel about a number of the issues that they do.”

Halldison described the new voting process as “a giant step in the precise path”, but said it was just a “first step” in overhauling the union, which was below federal moderation by not less than the mid-decade. anticipated to remain.