The UAW's nonprofit real estate unit is building a lakefront cabin for retired union President Dennis Williams, who was implicated in the ongoing UAW corruption scandal a month after his retirement, according to a Detroit newspaper.
The 1,885-square-foot cabin is under construction at the UAW Black Lake Conference Center, The Detroit News reported Thursday. Black Lake is in the northeastern part of Michigan's Lower Peninsula and is funded by interest from the UAW's strike fund.
A plea deal reached in July with Nancy Adams Johnson, a former top aide to ex-UAW Vice President Norwood Jewell, claimed an unnamed leader told senior leaders to use automaker funds from joint training centers operated with Detroit 3 automakers as a way to cut costs from the UAW's budget. The unnamed official was Williams, the newspaper reported.
Williams' lakefront cabin, which was under construction Monday, is adorned with granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances, according to The News.
The kitchen will boast cherry cabinets with a "chocolate glaze finish," The News reported, and walls covered in "white cedar shiplap."
The use of a cabin at Black Lake for retired union presidents has been a tradition for decades. The center was opened in 1970 to serve as an educational outpost for union members.
As presented in the UAW's 2018 proposed resolution book for the 37th UAW Constitutional Convention, the UAW said it would authorize "the availability of a cabin" and pay "any related costs associated with [Williams'] use of the cabin during his stays," Automotive News reported in June.
UAW spokesman Brian Rothenberg declined to comment to Automotive News.
According to the The News, the total cost of the cabin is "unclear" as well as when construction is scheduled to be completed.
Michael Wayland and Alexa St. John contributed to this report.
