Union Scandal Coincides With GM Auto Workers Strike

 
 

Resolving the strike against General Motors that began Monday may be harder because of an internal corruption scandal inside the United Auto Workers.

The strike officially began at midnight, when tens of thousands of workers walked off the factory floors of the multinational automobile manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit.

Vance Pearson, 58, the UAW’s Region 5 director, was arrested and charged Thursday with embezzlement, money laundering, and other offenses as part of a federal investigation, according to a report in the Detroit Free Press.

Pearson, of St. Charles, Missouri, is accused of embezzling union money; committing mail and wire fraud; money laundering; and conspiracy, the Free Press reported.

Pearson attended the union negotiations with General Motors on Sunday, which was three days after he was charged by federal prosecutors, the Detroit News reported.

A series of tweets from the Detroit News details Pearson’s participation and advisory role in the GM contract negotiations.

A little detail from the sidelines of UAW-GM meetings yesterday… pic.twitter.com/Ys0swDGNAp

— Robert Snell (@robertsnellnews) September 16, 2019

UAW’s Region 5 covers 17 states: Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, California, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Alaska, Washington, …read more