UAW to sell ex-president's lavish Up North cabin as part of ethics cleanup

The scandal-ridden UAW plans to sell a cottage designated for ex-UAW President Dennis Williams as part of a series of ethics reforms announced Wednesday.

The union, in an announcement by acting President Rory Gamble, issued a series of nationwide reforms, ranging from establishment of an ethics hotline to the creation of an independent ethics officer position.

“As the acting president, I’m committed to putting in place the right mechanisms to safeguard our union, regaining the trust of our members, and ensuring the misconduct that has recently come to light will never happen again. That is why I am ordering immediate actions that will lay the foundation for a more transparent, more accountable, and more responsible future for our union,” Gamble said, noting that "this is just the beginning."

The reforms are part of a campaign by the union as it tries to regain the trust of members angered by the revelations of self-dealing by various leaders, which have been uncovered as part of the federal corruption probe. They could also be seen as an effort to forestall any possible federal intervention into the union.

Last week, Gamble addressed the corruption allegations in interviews with the media and sent a letter to union members saying he is angry and "will not excuse or tolerate any inappropriate action."

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The cottage, known as Cabin Four or unofficially as the "Williams Cottage," at the UAW Walter and May Reuther Family Education Center in northern Michigan, has drawn criticism because it was seen as an opulent addition to the center even as the union was dealing with a corruption scandal. The conference center at Black Lake near Onaway is subsidized by interest from the union's strike fund.

The move comes a little over a week after the elevation of Gamble as the union's acting president in the wake of a paid leave of absence granted to President Gary Jones, who has been implicated in the ongoing corruption probe.

Prosecutors accused Jones, identified to the Free Press by a source as UAW Official A, of splitting up to $700,000 in union money with another union official charged in the scandal. During nationwide raids by federal agents in August, more than $30,000 was seized from Jones' home in a suburb west of Detroit.

Williams has also been listed in federal court papers as "UAW Official B," according to a source, and his California home was hit in the raids. Neither Jones nor Williams has been charged in the scandal, but 13 people, including ex-auto executive Alphons Iacobelli, who was once the lead labor negotiator for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, have been charged in a scandal that burst into public view in 2017.

While Williams was still UAW president in December 2017, he also addressed the corruption scandal, portraying the case as one involving just a "few individuals."  Those comments came at about the time former UAW Vice President Norwood Jewell, since sentenced to 15 months for his role in the scandal, had left the union.

"We will never tolerate this type of misconduct. Based on the information we have, we believe several former UAW officials acted in a clear violation of UAW policy. This is not acceptable and the actions of a few individuals should not be held against the entire union and its membership," Williams said at the time.

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In addition to the sale of the cottage, here's what the policy calls for, according to the UAW:

• The establishment of an ethics ombudsman to receive, review and respond to ethics complaints and allegations.
•  The creation of the position of ethics officer who will not be an employee of the International Union, but rather an external position with the power to investigate allegations, complaints or matters referred to them by the ethics ombudsman or the International Executive Board. The UAW is beginning a national search for an Ethics Officer effective immediately.
• The introduction of a new policy that will enhance enforcement against those who have been found guilty of misusing funds and a commitment to seek recovery of all misused or misappropriated money.
• The implementation of stringent monetary controls that increase oversight by the UAW Accounting Department.
• The banning of all charitable contributions from UAW joint program centers, vendors or employers to any charities run or controlled by UAW officials. 
• The enactment of accountability measures to the joint programs, including that purchases of promotional items using joint program funds have been permanently banned and all expenditures will be controlled, monitored, and regularly audited by independent public accounting firms.
• Finally, UAW will set up an Ethics Hotline to encourage those who may have concerns about or want to report potential ethics violations. The hotline will provide members and employees the ability to anonymously and confidentially submit allegations or complaints about potential violations of the UAW’s Ethical Code and other relevant policies. 

Marick Masters, a business professor at Wayne State University, said Gamble should be commended for taking strong action to signal to the union's members that the kind of "mis- and malfeasance" represented by the scandal won't be tolerated, and the union is taking strong action to make sure it doesn't happen again.

But Masters also noted that the scandal says a lot about the organization. He called the reforms a good start but said they're the minimum of what is needed.

"The scandal reflects a cultural problem within the UAW, and that for whatever reason, a good deal of mis- and malfeasance was tolerated at the very highest level of the leadership for a very long time without anyone doing anything about it," Masters said. "I think there's clearly something that was a problem where they had leaders who were able to do things that were quite conspicuous in terms of taking extended trips to resort areas and using the union's money to do that without anything being mentioned about it."

Masters said the way the union selects its top officers — as a slate of candidates presented at conventions for approval — could be a problem and asked whether it might be discouraging the kind of democracy the union wants.

"I think they really need to take a look at whether they are an open enough union for dissent and disagreement," Masters said.

Commonly known as the United Auto Workers, the union's official name is the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America. It represents more than 400,000 active members in the United States and Canada who work in everything from casino gaming to beer production to higher education. About 156,000 of the members are hourly workers for the Detroit Three automakers, with which the UAW is in the midst of negotiating new four-year contracts.

Contact Eric D. Lawrence: 313-223-4272 orelawrence@freepress.com.Follow him on Twitter @_ericdlawrence. Sign up for ourautos newsletter. Phoebe Wall Howard contributed to this report.