UAW leader pleads guilty to embezzling member dues The Detroit News Published 4:34 PM EST Mar 2, 2020 Detroit — A United Auto Workers official accused of embezzling union funds and splitting the money with former President Gary Jones pleaded guilty Monday in federal court, giving prosecutors another building block in a possible federal takeover.  Edward "Nick" Robinson could be sentenced to more than three years in federal prison after admitting he conspired with at least six other UAW officials to embezzle more than $1 million since 2010 and spent the money on personal luxuries. Those luxuries included private villas in Palm Springs, Calif., lavish dinners, golf trips and more than $60,000 spent on cigars. Edward "Nick" Robinson UAW Robinson, 72, of Kirkwood, Mo., pleaded guilty five months after prosecutors filed a criminal case that elevated the years-long corruption scandal from one involving labor law violations and bribes to what legal sources called outright thievery. The Robinson case includes a failed cover-up, payoffs, labor leaders using burner cell phones and hints at undercover recordings of union officers discussing wrongdoing. Robinson is the 13th and final person charged so far to plead guilty to criminal charges in a years-long federal crackdown on corruption within the U.S. auto industry. Federal oversight of the UAW is an option once government investigators determine the depths of corruption, a move that could cost tens of millions of dollars, lead to prolonged government control and involve replacing labor leaders. He has agreed to cooperate with investigators and could receive a lesser sentence. “You can build these guilty pleas into a racketeering case,” said Peter Henning, a Wayne State University law professor and former federal prosecutor. “That means basically disemboweling the leadership of the UAW.” Robinson’s cooperation was apparent Monday. Inside federal court in Detroit, he greeted the team of government investigators with bear-hugs and big smiles before being released on $10,000 bond. "He has worked very hard to rectify wrongs he’s made and we are well on our way there," Robinson’s lawyer, James Martin, told reporters. Robinson admitted sharing embezzled money with more than one UAW official, but did not name names. He itemized how he spent some of the money. "Cigars, good liquor, golf items and sometimes I got the benefit of these items," Robinson told U.S. District Judge Paul Borman. The guilty plea came as federal agents continue to investigate Jones and his predecessor, retired President Dennis Williams. The probe has led to labor leaders and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles executives convicted of breaking federal labor laws, embezzling union funds and receiving bribes. A team of federal agents from the FBI, Internal Revenue Services and Labor Department also are investigating current UAW President Rory Gamble. Investigators are probing allegations of strip club payoffs and financial ties between Gamble, retired Vice President Jimmy Settles and one of the union’s highest-paid vendors, sources told The Detroit News. Last fall, Gamble blamed the corruption scandal on a "few bad apples." “The idea that the UAW has had one bad apple doesn’t ring true. It doesn’t ring true to anybody — the government or the UAW rank-and-file,” said Erik Gordon, a University of Michigan business professor. “It makes them sound silly. This is a big chunk of UAW leadership.” UAW President Rory Gamble. Todd McInturf, The Detroit News Borman has broad discretion and could sentence Robinson to up to five years in federal prison for pleading guilty to conspiracy to embezzle union funds and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. He has agreed to pay $42,000 in restitution to the IRS and an unspecified amount of additional restitution.  Robinson is the latest Jones aide to strike a plea deal with investigators who have accused the former UAW presidents of participating in racketeering activity that involved embezzling union funds.  Last month, Jones aide Vance Pearson pleaded guilty after being accused of participating in racketeering activity and agreed to cooperate with the government. He pleaded guilty after being accused of helping embezzle more than $1.5 million in union funds. Robinson served as president of a regional UAW community action program council. Prosecutors say he conspired with Jones, Williams and other union officials to embezzle money. Jones and Williams are not identified by name. Instead, prosecutors call them "UAW Official A" and "UAW Official B." Sources helped decipher pseudonyms used by the government to identify former UAW officials implicated in alleged racketeering activity. They are (clockwise from center): Gary Jones, aka "UAW Official A"; Dennis Williams, aka "UAW Official B"; Danny Trull, aka "UAW Official C"; Amy Loasching, aka "UAW Official D"; the late Jim Wells, aka "UAW Official E"; Edward "Nick" Robinson and Vance Pearson. The Detroit News/Facebook Since 2010, Robinson cashed as much as $700,000 in checks from the UAW council and split the money with Jones, according to court records. "After Edward N. Robinson obtained the cash, he split the hundreds of thousands in dollars in cash proceeds with UAW Official A…," Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Gardey and Steven Cares wrote in the court filing. "Between 2010 and 2017, UAW Official A deposited over $93,000 in cash into one of his personal bank accounts." Robinson is listed on Labor Department filings as president of a UAW community activist group in Missouri financed by taxes from member dues. The UAW group spent more than $190,000 on junkets for union leaders from 2014-18, according to court records. More than $45,000 was spent by the UAW on meals and liquor, more than $75,000 on golf green fees, golf clubs and merchandise, more than $8,000 on spa treatments and $1,000 at a gun range, according to the government. Robinson helped oversee Jones’ personal charity, the 5 Game Changers Fund and a separate fund previously controlled by Jones. That group, the Members in Solidarity Fund, is part of a long tradition within the UAW of leaders establishing funds to buy flowers for auto workers’ funerals but, as The Detroit News exclusively reported last year, federal investigators are questioning whether UAW officers forced staffers to contribute money and kept the cash.  In charging Robinson last fall, prosecutors allege he and Jones tried to hide the alleged scheme. Jones occasionally instructed Robinson to issue checks in odd amounts to conceal the embezzlement from UAW accountants, prosecutors said. "UAW Official A also cautioned (Robinson) to avoid cashing any check in excess of $10,000 so as to avoid causing a bank to generate any currency transaction reports," prosecutors wrote. By late 2017, with Jones a few months from ascending to the presidency of the UAW, Jones ordered a halt to the embezzlement conspiracy, prosecutors said. “UAW Official A advised (Robinson) that they needed to halt the cash embezzlement portion of the conspiracy because of the ongoing federal criminal investigation of the United Auto Workers union and because of a new UAW position being taken by UAW Official A," prosecutors wrote. Jones was elected UAW president in June 2018 but quit in November. The criminal case against Robinson reflects the government’s ongoing focus on a UAW Region 5 office near St. Louis. The branch was the UAW’s largest region, covering 17 states, including Missouri, Texas and California but was dissolved last month after being linked to the scandal. Federal agents raided the regional office Aug. 28 as part of a broader series of searches at six locations in four states. The raids included searches at the home of Jones, Williams and the home of Pearson. FBI investigators leave the home of UAW President Gary Jones during a search on Wednesday in Canton. Max Ortiz, The Detroit News During the raid at Jones’ home, investigators seized more than $32,000 cash and a set of Titleist golf clubs similar to the ones purchased during a UAW junket paid for by the UAW community activist group Robinson headed. In January 2019, seven months after Jones became president, he met with Robinson and Pearson and attempted to cover up the alleged scheme, prosecutors said. "UAW Official A promised to provide a sham job to a relative of (Robinson) in order to ‘take care of’ the relative if Robinson agreed to falsely take sole responsibility for the … cash embezzlement portion of the conspiracy, thereby attempting to protect UAW Official A from federal criminal prosecution," prosecutors wrote. UAW Official A and Robinson met again in March and talked about whether the government had obtained documents from the UAW and hotels involved in the alleged embezzlement scheme, prosecutors said: "UAW Official A told (Robinson) that he wished they ‘burned the records.’" Four months later, on July 13, a fire tore through UAW headquarters in Detroit, damaging one floor. The fire appears to have started in the IT department, according to court records. Plywood remains in place of windows on October 31, 2019, after a July 13 fire tore through the United Auto Workers’ Solidarity House at 8000 E. Jefferson at Van Dyke in Detroit. The fire appeared to have started in the IT department, according to court records on the alleged embezzlement scheme. Todd McInturf, The Detroit News Federal corruption investigators have subpoenaed security camera footage and visitor logs from the UAW Solidarity House for the day of the fire. Pat McNulty, the Detroit Fire Department chief in charge of arson, said in January the department is still waiting for lab results to come back. Investigators sent computer batteries to a lab in Connecticut for a CT scan shortly after the fire, but haven’t heard back. The official cause remains undetermined and is still under investigation. In a court filing, a UAW lawyer downplayed defending the union against claims that evidence could be in jeopardy. "The fire has had a negligible effect on the UAW’s ability to fully respond and to continue producing documents in the ongoing government investigation," wrote Jeffrey Sodko, the UAW’s deputy general counsel. rsnell@detroitnews.com @RobertSnellnews Published 4:34 PM EST Mar 2, 2020

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United Auto Workers Local 2865 filed two unfair labor practice charges against the UC system, after weeks of protests for a cost of living adjustment. …

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More rumors about THC potency bills, and Vermont nears an agreement to allow retail stores.

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Michigan manufacturing expected to be especially hard hit by coronavirus The Detroit News Published 11:55 PM EST Feb 28, 2020 Detroit — The coronavirus will disrupt U.S. manufacturing, and when it does it will hit Michigan harder than most states, experts say. Michigan’s manufacturing roots — with 14.2% of employment based in manufacturing compared to 8.5% nationally — will leave it more exposed to the potential for production slowdowns and layoffs from the virus’ impact on supply chains. Businesses are working to mitigate the risk to their overall business and bottom lines. The coronavirus will disrupt U.S. manufacturing, and when it does it will hit Michigan harder than most states because of its dependency on the auto industry, experts say. Carlos Osorio, AP "Manufacturing is more vulnerable because of supply-chain disruptions," said Gus Faucher, chief economist for PNC Financial Services Group. "Michigan is much more vulnerable to those types of problems compared to the rest of the U.S."  Automotive manufacturing in particular will be hurt because of its deep supply chains, and Michigan is more dependent on that sector than any other state. "I would not be surprised to see some auto parts manufacturers and perhaps even the big auto companies themselves start to reduce production because of an inability to get parts," Faucher said. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation says it’s monitoring the situation. "It is, however, too early to speculate on what the impact has been or will be moving forward," spokesman Otie McKinley said. Even though some businesses have contingency plans for parts, experts don’t see how the virus won’t have some effect, though automakers haven’t said it’s hurt anything yet. "I think it’s absolutely going to have some impact on production in North America because we source not only stuff from China but stuff from other countries that has Chinese content," said Kristin Dziczek, vice president of industry, labor and economics at the Ann Arbor-based Center for Automotive Research. "We haven’t seen this kind of viral outbreak with this level global integration on the supply chain to really know what’s going to happen." The impact could be as minimal as an automaker not being able to provide a certain trim level of a vehicle — or it could be more damaging. Slowed production or layoffs could result. "It’s going to be expensive and at the minimum that will affect growth because if you’re a business and your costs go up and in the short term revenues go down … then you’re squeezed what’s going to happen to your earnings," said Linda Lim, professor emerita of corporate strategy and international business at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. "Earnings are going to hit by either rising costs or lower revenues or more likely both."  Detroit 3 impact Ford Motor Co. Chief Operating Officer Jim Farley said this week the coronavirus crisis would “handicap” the automaker and lower its financial guidance for the year, but it’s too early to determine by how much. The automaker expects to restart its normal office operations next week in China and has already resumed production at its 11 plants there.  Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV in its annual report filed this week said the virus is a risk to its business in China and abroad since it could disrupt supply chains. "The ultimate severity of the coronavirus outbreak is uncertain at this time and therefore we cannot predict the impact it may have on our end markets and our operations; however, the effect on our results could be material and adverse," the company said. Fiat Chrysler’s two manufacturing operations in China have restarted production and there’s "no immediate impact" on the automaker’s other manufacturing operations, a spokesman said in a statement Thursday. General Motors Co., which has 15 manufacturing sites in China, implemented a staggered start to production beginning Feb. 15. It will not restart its facilities in the Hubei Province — the epicenter of the outbreak — until March 10, per government orders. The United Auto Workers Local 598 in Flint recently told members on the local’s smart phone app that production there could be hurt, but GM said to this point there’s been no impact on North American production. Alarms sounded Some auto component suppliers have started warning their clients of potential disruptions. Most manufacturers source components from overseas, especially China. Michigan imports from China are mostly for the automotive industry, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. There’s also the uncertainty of not knowing if outbreaks will lead to quarantines and plant shutdowns in the U.S. "There will be an impact," said Ray Telang, PwC’s U.S. auto leader and Detroit managing partner who works with clients on supply-chain management. "The question is when from a production perspective," he said. Sheldon Klein, an attorney at Butzel Long’s Bloomfield Hills office who represents automotive industry suppliers, has been advising his clients in asking their customers for excusable delays in the event the virus interrupts delivery of certain parts. The firm will put on a webinar next week to help them through that process. "Will there be assembly plants shut down? I would be surprised if there aren’t … maybe sooner rather than later," Klein said.  The good news is most big companies can adapt quickly because they have handled disruptions caused by natural disasters and trade issues. But smaller, less sophisticated businesses are likely to be more challenged, PwC’s Telang said. "People are looking at their supply chains with a fine-tooth comb to ensure they have enough flexibility to address and or react to not only what’s happening right now with the coronavirus, but any other kind of disruption," Telang said. Other industry at risk Michigan tourism also could take a hit this year. And international tourism is expected to drop because of the virus, which could hurt the Michigan economy because Detroit Metropolitan Airport, a hub, will likely see less traffic coming in and out. PNC economist Faucher also pointed to major universities in Michigan with large populations of international students; disruptions with those students traveling from their home countries could hurt the state’s economy. Faucher expects slower economic growth in the U.S. in the first half of the year, mostly because of the virus. "I don’t think the economy’s prospects have gotten that much worse over the past four days," he said. "Assuming that this fades and it becomes less of a problem, then I expect growth to tick back up in the second half of this year." khall@detroitnews.com Twitter: @bykaleahall Published 11:55 PM EST Feb 28, 2020

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The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation said members in select boards will walk off the job on Thursday. President Harvey Bischof maintains that he will call off the ongoing strikes if the government backs down on increasing class sizes.

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The nation’s largest union of registered nurses says hospitals are not prepared for an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, pointing to the recent admission at UC Davis Medical Center of an infected patient.

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Donald Trump has signed a memo that effectively gives Defense Secretary Mark Esper the ability to end collective bargaining rights for 750,000 federal workers.These workers, represented by The American Federation of Government Employees, could lose benefits that they have worked for decades to build,…

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Fifty-four teaching assistants at the University of California, Santa Cruz were fired after they refused to turn in final fall grades as part of an ongoing strike for higher wages….

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Oscar-winning ‘American Factory’ leads to scrutiny of Chinese-owned Dayton-area factory The Columbus Dispatch Published 9:26 AM EST Feb 27, 2020 The documentary film "American Factory" tells the tale of Americans and Chinese trying to work side-by-side in an automotive glass factory that was once General Motors Moraine Assembly plant in Ohio. Ian Cook Federal and state officials are reacting to possibly illegal treatment of workers in a Chinese-owned factory in the Dayton area that was exposed in the Academy Award-winning documentary “American Factory." The National Labor Relations Board has opened an investigation in response to sequences in the film in which Chinese officials with Fuyao Glass America appear to discuss firing American workers for trying to unionize — a likely violation of the National Labor Relations Act. Also, JobsOhio, Ohio’s publicly funded economic developer, disowned a statement it issued celebrating the 2017 defeat of an attempt by the United Auto Workers to organize workers in the Moraine plant, which previously had been used by General Motors. And Gov. Mike DeWine might consider action against Fuyao — the recipient of almost $10 million in state tax subsidies — depending on the outcome of the federal investigation. Unions are thought by some scholars to be an effective counterweight to exploding income inequality. But the controversy sparked by “American Factory” highlights difficulties that unions face in a globalizing economy and what unions see as a growing government bias against them. “The plight of the workers at Fuyao is no different than the plight of workers in different parts of the country,” said Brian Rothenberg, the UAW’s director of public relations. “It’s really hard right now for workers to stick their necks out.” Yellow Springs-based filmmakers Julia Reichart and Steven Bognar made the Netflix film as the first project of Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions. Earlier this month, it won the Oscar for best documentary. (L-R) Julia Reichert, Lindsay Utz, Steven Bognar, Jeff Reichert and Julie Parker Benello accept the Documentary – Feature – award for ‘American Factory’ onstage during the 92nd Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre on February 09, 2020 in Hollywood, California. Kevin Winter, Getty Images Previously, Reichart and Bognar made “The Last Truck,” which documented the plight of more than 2,000 GM workers as the Moraine Assembly Plant, which closed just before Christmas 2008 as the financial markets were melting down and GM and Chrysler were on the verge of bankruptcy. In 2014, as Fuyao founder Cao Dewang(Cho Tak Wong is another name he goes by and DDN uses it) started glass-making operations in the same plant, he granted the flimmakers almost-unfettered access and creative control over the project, Reichart said last week during a talk at Ohio State University’s Wexner Center for the Arts. Over the next three years, Dewang didn’t waver from that commitment, despite the cultural and business clashes that ensued, she said. “He never took that back,” Reichert said. “He never said, ‘Look, you’ve been here a year. Aren’t you done yet?’ He was good to his word, and I respect that a lot in people.” Documentary "American Factory." Netflix Some of the conversations captured in the documentary appear to be damning. In one, according to the English subtitles of a conversation in Mandarin, Dewang says he will close the plant if the unionization effort is successful. In another, Jeff Liu, Fuyao’s U.S. president, briefs Dewang on efforts to keep out the UAW, saying that “a lot” of union supporters had already been fired. Liu told the Dayton Daily News that his quotes were “misleading and incomplete.” The filmmakers stood behind the translation, and Dewang later congratulated Bognar and Reichart on their Oscar. Such threats — much less firings — are violations of the law. Fuyao has had dozens of complaints filed against it by employees in Moraine and at its plant in Decatur, Illinois, in the years leading up to the documentary’s release, and the company paid more than $100,000 to the NLRB and three employees. It also paid $1.3 million to employees after being sued over scheduling and working conditions. The company also has faced more than $700,000 in fines imposed by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Daily News reported. Then, on Aug. 22 — a day after Netflix’s release of “American Factory” in the United States — the NLRB opened another investigation into whether Fuyao had improperly coerced its employees. In the wake of the November 2017 defeat of the union drive, JobsOhio issued a document that seemed to crow about it. It said that as a startup, Fuyao was “vulnerable” to organization and that the UAW “benefited from the significant cultural and communications gap between many Chinese workers and the (Fuyao) workforce.” Fuyao officials, who couldn’t be reached for comment for this story, had paid entry-level employees $12 an hour, but bumped that up to $14.50 in advance of the union vote. As the unionization election approached, the movie shows consultants hired by the company predicting a dire future for employees if they unionized. In its press release, JobsOhio praised Fuyao’s “proactive approach in meeting with and listening to employees as the vote neared. (Fuyao) engaged in a fact-based campaign to educate employees on the reality of union representation and debunked the fiction that an outside party could better represent the best interests of employees than could a direct relationship with the company.” The document was titled “Ohio Success: Fuyao Glass America Inc.” JobsOhio spokesman Matt Englehart said in an email that the press release, which was published over a 2018 copyright, “is a draft that should not have been posted to our website. We do not endorse the language that was posted and will remove the content.” Englehart added that his entity was agnostic on whether workplaces should unionize. “JobsOhio works to attract jobs and investment to Ohio from companies regardless of if they have a union or not,” he said. “Notably, Ohio’s automotive workforce — which is the most skilled and productive in the country — includes thousands of workers who belong to unions.” U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown appears in “American Factory,” speaking at the grand opening of the Fuyao plant and encouraging employees to unionize if they wished. Dave Burrows, at the time a Fuyao executive, is next shown profanely and violently condemning the Ohio Democrat for the statement. In an interview last week, Brown said he has no hard feelings toward Burrows, but he also slammed JobsOhio and the state’s Republican leadership, saying they are anti-labor. “We have a state government and a president of the United States that betray workers every single day,” Brown said. “They celebrate the defeat of unions. They tilt the playing field away from union organizing. Workers should be able to form a union if they want to, and that’s sort of become not the American way in this state.” DeWine’s office was asked whether, in light of the starting pay that Fuyao offers and the revelations in “American Factory,” the company should continue to enjoy $10 million in taxpayer support. “It would be premature to comment if any action will be taken until the NLRB investigation is complete,” press secretary Dan Tierney said. This report is from the Columbus Dispatch, part of the USAToday network Published 9:26 AM EST Feb 27, 2020

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Some of the largest unions in the US are asking the Federal Trade Commission to open an investigation into anticompetitive behavior by Amazon. The unions have filed a formal, 28-page petition with the FTC, hoping to urge the agency to take action.

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