UAW reaches settlement to end federal corruption probe

The U.S. government and the United Auto Workers (UAW) union have reached a tentative settlement after a years-long investigation, federal prosecutors announced Monday.

Under the terms of the deal, the federal government would have six years of oversight over the union, according to the Detroit News. The government over the summer had proposed 10 years of supervision, which would have been one of the longest supervision periods for a union in U.S. history.

The investigation was first publicly disclosed in 2017 and is one of the most extensive probes of a national union in decades, The Wall Street Journal noted. A criminal investigation of the union is ongoing, and two former presidents of the union have been convicted in connection with the probe.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Detroit has focused its investigation on allegations of embezzlement, kickbacks and various other corrupt practices, according to the Detroit News.

Union President Rory Gamble announced the settlement Monday at a press conference with U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider. While the government has investigated possible ties between Gamble and a union contractor, Schneider said Gamble is not under any ongoing investigation.

Schneider is likely to be replaced along with his fellow U.S. attorneys once President-elect Joe Biden takes office in January, and before the deal was announced, it was unclear whether the union would take a deal or attempt to run out the clock before beginning negotiations anew with the Biden administration.

The proposed settlement would also give the union’s rank-and-file members a vote on whether to directly elect leaders, according to the Detroit News. Under the union’s current constitution, workers elect delegates who then cast votes at a convention to elect the 13 members of the UAW’s executive board.