Three Fiat Chrysler workers in Detroit have filed a class-action suit against the auto manufacturer and their union, United Auto Workers, seeking refunds of all of their membership dues from 2009 through 2015. The workers say the manufacturer bribed the union leaders, tainting their collective bargaining agreements.
The lawsuit follows a guilty plea last week by Alphons Iacobelli, formerly the automaker’s vice president of labor relations for its North American division, to two corruption charges related to siphoning off $4.5 million in funds intended for a worker training center jointly managed by the company and the union. As part of his plea agreement with the Justice Department, Iacobelli said he and other company executives illicitly paid UAW leaders $1.5 million to sway union contract negotiations the company’s way, even “scripting” union officials on what to say.
