Statement by U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia on United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America Consent Order

WASHINGTON, DC – Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia issued the following statement regarding a consent order entered in a federal court in Michigan today:

“The consent order entered today by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan takes an important step toward ending the corruption that in recent years has afflicted the leadership of the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW).

“The UAW is an historic union, whose members have been a backbone of U.S. manufacturing and leaders within their communities for generations. A criminal element within the UAW recently betrayed these members’ trust, engaging in bribery, kickback, and embezzlement schemes totaling millions of dollars.

“Tenacious investigation by the Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards and Office of Inspector General, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, uncovered these crimes. Prosecutions by the Department of Justice, led by the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, have brought to justice 11 UAW leaders and four other individuals who were also involved.

“Today’s order provides ongoing monitoring of the union’s operations to ensure the criminal conduct has been eliminated. In faithfully meeting the terms of this order, the UAW will better serve the hundreds of thousands of men and women it represents. Long-time UAW president Walter Reuther said, ‘Our membership are the strength of the UAW, and the membership and the families of our members, they are the purpose of the UAW.’ Today’s order will help ensure the current leadership is guided by these ideals.

“For its part, the Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards – which last year celebrated its 60th anniversary – will continue its important work. In 2020, OLMS helped secure the conviction of 69 union leaders and union employees for financial misconduct in connection with members’ dues and union funds. The agency also opened two audits of national union headquarters under its International Compliance Audit Program, which had been dormant since 2009.”