ABSTRACT
Another set of scandalous activities occurred among a handful of top UAW officers, including a former International Vice President, with connections to the joint training center at GM. These officials arranged for contracts to be let to favored vendors who provided them with kickbacks. Several contracts were let to purchase merchandise for rank-and-file (watches, jackets, and backpacks) in bulk quantities. A top-ranking UAW administrative assistant orchestrated kickbacks totaling nearly $2 million over a period lasting more than a decade. It appears that the UAW officials cleverly managed the contracting process to steer contracts to favored vendors who were then extorted for money. There is no evidence of any corporate involvement in these activities.
