USA TODAY International Edition
Former UAW president admits role in corruption
Williams faces two years in prison in plea bargain
When he had the chance to do the right thing, Dennis Williams looked the other way.
The onetime head of the UAW admitted Wednesday to a federal judge that he suspected the money that was paying for his golf, meals and other goodies connected to conferences, including lengthy rental stays in Palm Springs, California, for him and his friends, was bought with union funds, but he chose to do nothing despite an obligation to act. Williams, 67, of Corona, California, also described his love for the union he joined as a welder in Rock Island, Illinois, in 1977.
Williams, who pleaded guilty in U. S. District Court in Detroit to a charge of conspiracy to embezzle union funds, said he asked Gary Jones, his successor as president who was then head of the union's Region 5, twice how he was paying for conference expenses, in 2015 and 2017, and was told everything was above board. Jones is also awaiting sentencing for his role in the scandal.
"I made a deliberate and conscious decision not to press the matter even though I strongly suspected that If I looked into how Gary Jones was funding these benefits, I would find union funds were being misused. As secretary- treasurer and ( later) as president I could have investigated into the source of these funds or directed my staff to do so. It was within my power and it was my duty as a UAW officer to do so, but I deliberately looked away," he told Judge Paul Borman.
Williams, who could face up to two years in prison based on his plea agreement, painted himself less as an active part of the corruption that has tainted the UAW than as someone who failed in his responsibilities. But the impact of having two ex- union presidents convicted in the wide- ranging probe is hard to overstate, and Williams even thanked law enforcement for its hard work in rooting out corruption. That corruption has led to charges against 15 former union and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles officials to date and exposed everything from misuse of union funds at conferences to kickbacks on contracts worth millions of dollars.
"I hope by accepting responsibility for my actions and for my failures, this process might help restore the faith in our union so it may continue to fight on behalf of working men and women in this country who need it so badly today," said Williams, who was arraigned and later pleaded guilty Wednesday via separate videoconferences in federal court. He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 25. As part of his agreement with prosecutors, Williams will forfeit a set of golf clubs, golf clothing and related items, some of which were seized from his home and some of which he turned over to law enforcement last year. He also now owes more than $ 15,000 to the Internal Revenue Service.
Williams, who the UAW said has resigned his membership in the union after it threatened to pursue union charges against him that could lead to his ouster, described to the judge how sometimes dinners and drinks can legally be purchased with caucus, or socalled flower funds, which are voluntary contributions, but not golf, for instance. He said he had suspected that based on the scale of spending, the money for it likely came from union funds out of the UAW headquarters in Detroit.
Prosecutors said that between 2010 and 2018, Jones and other codefendants submitted fraudulent expense forms for conferences to conceal hundreds of thousands of dollars in entertainment and personal spending.
During his arraignment, Williams, who appeared with his attorney, Terra Reynolds, was freed on a $ 10,000 unsecured bond. He was told he must surrender his passport and will have his travel restricted to the continental United States. It was noted that Williams, a veteran of the Marines, receives two pensions, one from the UAW and one from Case New Holland.
The scandal has had significant impact not just on those directly involved. It's the source of many of the allegations that General Motors has used in a lawsuit it has filed against Fiat Chrysler, and it has forced the UAW into talks with the U. S. Attorney's Office in Detroit, which could lead to various reforms, including direct elections of top union leaders.
U. S. Attorney Matthew Schneider referenced those efforts in his comments after the plea.
"Former UAW President Dennis Williams has accepted responsibility for his conduct and, in that way, has contributed to our efforts with the union's current leadership towards reforming the UAW to better serve its members and their families,” Schneider said in a news release. “Today's conviction demonstrates that we will continue our drive forward to provide ethical and honest leadership for the UAW's membership.”
The UAW, in a news release, said Williams' actions deserve consequences.
"Former UAW President Dennis Williams has pled guilty to serious infractions, and in doing so put his personal and self- interest above that of our members and this Union. These serious charges deserve serious legal consequences as they violate the oath of UAW officers and they violate the trust of UAW officers to handle our members' sacred dues money," the union said.
Regarding Williams' position with the union, the UAW said it had "demanded Williams fully resign from his membership with the union or face charges under Article 31 of the UAW Constitution to remove him from our membership. On September 18, 2020, pursuant to that demand from the International Executive Board, Williams resigned his UAW membership effective immediately."
The board had previously voted to stop paying for Williams' attorney ( his legal fees in 2019 alone were listed at more than $ 320,000, according to a UAW filing) and decided to have him repay more than $ 56,000 "spent for housing and related travel expenses while he was in office that were determined to be personal in nature."
The union noted that "Williams will be required to repay the UAW for all legal fees paid by the Union on his behalf or face legal action, and Williams will be required to repay any further Union funds he wrongly took or misspent."
The union has moved to strip other ex- UAW officials caught up in the probe of their union affiliation in the past. In January, the International Executive Board moved to file charges under the UAW constitution against eight members, including former vice presidents Joe Ashton and Norwood Jewell.
UAW President Rory Gamble said at the time that “any UAW member who uses their position to break the law or blatantly violates the sacred oath they took to faithfully serve our members will be subject to removal from their post and expulsion from our union."
An activist group within the UAW, Unite All Workers for Democracy, issued a news release on Tuesday blasting the union's International Executive Board for not filing union charges against Williams earlier. According to the release, the union's independent Public Review Board remanded the case prompted by a complaint on the matter back to the IEB, saying "that enforcement of the ( union's) Ethical Practices Codes is not dependent upon whether the government has brought criminal charges against a union officer or member; rather, the union has an independent duty to regulate itself under the codes."
The UAW, however, said it acted before the review board took its action.