Credit UAW
Five years after the FBI began investigating corruption in the leadership ranks of the United Auto Workers union, the U.S. Justice Department and the union have agreed to a consent order that places the union under the oversight of an independent monitor.
The investigation began with charges against a former Fiat Chrysler official, and spread from there, ending with two former UAW presidents, Gary Jones and Dennis Williams, pleading guilty to embezzlement, among other crimes.
The monitor will be in place for six years, at least, unless he or she determines the oversight is no longer necessary sooner than that. The monitor will oversee most functions of the union except its contract negotiations with employers such as Detroit automakers; that is, unless there is evidence of corruption or fraud in those negotiations.