Our latest union corruption roundup reveals that 2025 is stickier than ever:
Association Of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) President Julie Hedrick has been accused of embezzlement. Allegedly, she used union dues to pay unauthorized rent and other personal expenditures, all of which add up to what members call a “willful violation” of the union’s constitution. Sadly, this is not unusual behavior by a union officer, but what makes this case unique is how APFA top brass now wants to tweak the union’s constitution on rules related to spending. At the same time, officers seek to raise current dues and put automatic increases into place. APFA members have at least 3 reasons to lament how their union conducts business.
The United Steelworkers Workers Union (USWU) also faces allegations of misbehavior. U.S. Steel accused the union of corruption after outgoing President Biden blocked the company’s $15 billion sale to Japan’s Nippon Steel Corporation. USWU President David McCall lobbied for that result, called the sale null and void, and joined Biden in claiming that selling to Nippon would jeopardize national security.
What is really happening? The USWU is being accused of pressuring Biden to jilt Nippon in favor of another buyer, Ohio-based Cleveland-Cliffs. And sure, critics of both buyers are concerned about layoffs and jobs moving out of Pennsylvania, but the USWU’s opposition against Nippon is largely due to the company’s plans to reconsolidate operations in the Right To Work state of Arkansas. U.S. Steel has now filed two federal lawsuits over the blocked Nippon sale, so stay tuned.
Now for the latest antics from UAW President Shawn Fain, who somehow always manages to make an appearance in our corruption discussions.
This month, federal watchdog Neil Barofsky revealed that the UAW finally handed over hundreds of documents for his investigation into whether Fain is continuing his union’s legacy of corruption. Barofsky has further stoked flames of curiosity by alluding to “new claims of misconduct” by union officers, and the surrendered documents are said to include Fain’s text messages. Exactly why the union fought for six months to protect those messages remains to be seen, but the UAW dragged its feet until this month, when a judge reiterated that Barofsky retains “broad authority to investigate complaints of fraud, corruption, illegal behavior, dishonesty, and unethical practices by the UAW” and “may demand that the Union produce documents and other materials that may inform his investigations.”
Currently, it’s not clear whether Barofsky’s new claims have anything to do with existing allegations of “misuse of funds” and Fain’s stripping of power from the UAW’s secretary-treasurer for denying his expenditure requests. He is also accused of seizing oversight of the union’s Stellantis Department from a former VP for “refusing to divert benefits to his fiancée.”
Clearly, Fain is not having a fantastic year so far, not only due to that court decision but also in newly declaring that the UAW is “ready to work with Trump.” If only he would cooperate with his federal watchdog, too.