DETROIT — UAW rank-and-file members voted overwhelmingly to give themselves a direct role in choosing union officers, a margin that suggests a lack of confidence in the union's leadership after a sweeping corruption investigation sent two former presidents and 13 others to prison.
Nearly two-thirds of votes were in favor of adopting the "one member, one vote" system, according to the office of court-appointed monitor Neil Barofsky, which labeled the results "decisive" in a statement last week.
"In my opinion, it's poetic justice for those who think they're untouchable," said Rich LeTourneau, shop chair for Local 2209 at General Motors' pickup plant in Fort Wayne, Ind.
UAW members "want somebody that's grounded, that fully understands what's going on inside these plants and what's happening with the membership — what's on their mind," LeTourneau told Automotive News.
The vote was a condition of the UAW's settlement with the federal government over the corruption investigation. The Department of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards still needs to endorse the results and then seek court approval for the change. All modifications to the union's constitution will be adopted by delegates to the 38th UAW Constitutional Convention in July, the union said.
The vote, if certified, would cast aside the delegate system that came to be viewed as an enabler for the corruption that went on for years within some of the union's top ranks.
Under the current system, the union's top officers are often nominated by what's known as the Reuther Administrative Caucus, and they usually sail to victory in the quadrennial election with little to no opposition from challengers.
The UAW said in a statement that only 14 percent of active and retired members cast votes and that the union would "seek to unify behind the new method of elections."
"It is time to move forward on behalf of the over 1 million members and retirees of the UAW in solidarity," the statement said.
Former U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider and other supporters of the direct election system have said it could help prevent illegal behavior.
UAW President Ray Curry and Rory Gamble, who retired this year so that Curry could take over in advance of next year's election, had expressed support for the delegate-based voting system.
The new voting system could lessen Curry's odds to win his first full term as president, said Art Wheaton, a labor professor at Cornell University.
"It's a 'sweep out the old and in with the new,' but I think there's also a pretty good chance he will get reelected," Wheaton said. "Incumbents almost always have an advantage in an election."
But LeTourneau said the soiled reputation of the broader UAW leadership regime could hurt Curry.
"I don't think that Ray himself has done anything to cast doubt [among] our membership," he said. "But unfortunately, when things happen, they all go down with the ship."
An election system that members support is a step toward a fair leadership structure, Wheaton said, but it won't necessarily solve the union's problems.
"I don't know that the previous system was the cause of the problems," Wheaton said. "And I don't know that it eliminates all of the problems, but it's another approach."
The UAW and its independent monitor will develop standards around the direct voting process if it's approved by the Labor Department.
Until more details of the election process are shared, some UAW members are concerned about the potential of an open election, LeTourneau said.
"There are people out there who can fool people," he said. "Back in the day, we didn't have social media. The delegates fully comprehended what their responsibility was. This whole thing could be disastrous or it could be advantageous to this union."
