Congress is investigating a scandal-prone major union over whether it broke the law through poor investment choices that reportedly led to $80 million in losses to members, a letter obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation shows.
United Auto Workers (UAW) has not disclosed what happened to $340 million it used to cover strike costs in 2023 while promising to reinvest the funds, the House Education and Workforce Committee told the union in a letter scheduled to be sent Thursday. The committee is requesting documents and information on the alleged blunder, which angry UAW officials claimed cost an estimated $80 million in potential gains, according to a Reuters report cited in the letter.
Failing to reinvest the funds may have violated UAW’s fiduciary duty under the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA), ushered in higher dues, led to lesser strike benefits for members and made them miss out on stock market surges that followed President Donald Trump’s reelection in November, according to the letter.
“The consequences of this alleged mismanagement are significant,” wrote Republican Committee Chair Tim Walberg of Michigan and Republican Rep. Rick Allen of Georgia. The alleged conduct also neglects “statutory duty” toward members, the letter says.
UAW did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
The committee’s letter marks the latest in a series of corruption and mismanagement allegations within the UAW in recent years.
A federal court-ordered investigation in June found “compelling evidence” that UAW President Shawn Fain retaliated against employees over hesitation to approve certain transactions, Michigan Advance reported. A UAW chapter in Warren, Michigan, approved charges to remove Fain in July based on the dispute, according to The Detroit Free Press.
Former UAW President Dennis Williams also pleaded guilty in 2020 to embezzling member dues and was later sentenced to 21 months in prison. A former financial secretary-treasurer of a UAW Michigan chapter was also sentenced to 57 months in prison in 2022 for embezzlement and money laundering.
UAW settled with the first Trump administration in 2020 to resolve what the government called “widespread” financial corruption.
“The Committee is investigating this matter to better determine whether the LMRDA should be amended to strengthen its financial integrity and transparency requirements,” the Thursday letter said about the investment scandal.
UAW endorsed former Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris for president in 2024, though it has since come out in favor of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on international trade.
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