Did Union Officials and Management Join Forces To Screw Workers?

Both Fiat Chrysler and the United Auto Workers are calling it a one-off involving rogue officials, but according to the Detroit Free Press, a case in which millions of dollars provided by Fiat Chrysler for worker training instead went to Union officers for their private use, may be just the beginning of both organization’s troubles. “If I were general counsel at Fiat Chrysler, I would not be sleeping at night,” said Erik Gordon, a law professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. According to federal prosecutors, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, through an employee, “sought to corrupt and warp the labor-management relationship” to “buy labor peace.” No one disputes that the money was used for travel, jewelry, fancy home improvements and even to pay off union officers’ mortgages. The prosecution claims the company’s aim all along was to win favorable contract terms with the union. Seven people, all either formerly with Fiat Chrysler or the UAW, have been charged or sentenced in the case, and an eighth, Alphonse Iacobelli, a former vice president of employee relations for Fiat Chrysler, was scheduled for sentencing on August 27.