In last month’s issue of INK, we covered the federal investigation of Virdell King and other UAW officials in the Fiat Chrysler National Training Center case, where $4.5 million was skimmed from the program. This month, former UAW Local 2419 president was sentenced to federal prison for mail fraud and embezzlement. Bob Buford, president from Jan. 2007 to Oct. 2011, redirected over $129,000 from dues collections into his personal account, and attempted to cover it up by filing falsified reports with the government. His sentence includes 21 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release. When the UAW lost their election campaign at a Mississippi Nissan plant, they partly blamed the loss on the bad publicity of the Training Center case. Whatever the reasons (irrelevance?), the UAW is struggling, as is evident by the merger of two locals in Lordstown, OH. The move is touted as a cost-saving measure, “to keep GM Lordstown competitive.”
