The court-appointed monitor for the United Auto Workers (UAW) union has revealed that union leaders have been actively interfering with efforts to stamp out corruption.
A report issued by the office of monitor Neil Barofsky states that there are now 19 open investigations into the UAW. The report also reveals that union leaders allegedly concealed evidence and excluded the monitor’s office from important International Executive Board meetings in an effort to obstruct and interfere with investigations.
“Although there are positive changes in the union’s cooperation and transparency with the monitor, given the amount of work still ahead, it is still too soon to fully assess the union’s progress in carrying out the reforms it must enact to sustain much needed cultural change,” the report issued on July 19 reveals.
The report adds that the union has drafted a new code of conduct and anti-bribery policy, adopted competitive hiring processes, and conducted ethics and compliance training, yet still has a “great distance” to cover “in order to implement the recommendations in the Initial Status Report.”
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Auto News notes that the report revealed former Region 5 assistant director Danny Trull is being investigated over allegations of participation in an embezzlement scheme. The monitor’s office added that it is working with the UAW on 38 recommended reforms and said that the union has engaged a new internal audit service provider, provided new resources for IT system upgrades, and implemented new financial controls around vendor relationships.
“We have proven that with a myriad of already implemented changes to policies and the creation of processes that ensure accountability,” UAW spokesperson Sandra Engle said. “The report is lengthy and documents a sometimes-difficult process, but it ends on a note that we are on the right path.”
Engle added that the UAW “will continue to balance the urgent need to create necessary reforms with the equally urgent mandate to bargain equitable contracts and fight for public policies that protect members and their families.”
