The Detroit Free Press is reporting that a member of the United Auto Workers union Local 6000 has submitted a letter in federal court asking the court-appointed monitor to investigate allegations of racial discrimination by the union’s local chapter.
Niel Barofsky–an attorney appointed by a federal judge to oversee the union following a corruption scandal that spread over several years and sent two UAW Presidents to prison–is asked in the letter to probe the allegations of discrimination and retaliation.
The monitor declined comment on whether it plans to investigate. Local union officials deny the allegations.
Internal documents obtained by the newspaper indicate an internal UAW investigation found “a pattern of discrimination towards minority women at UAW Local 6000.”
The internal probe found a number of elected leaders in the local had their duties taken away, according to the Free Press. One was allegedly moved from an office to a former supply closet.
In a recent report, the federal monitor found a “toxic” culture continues at the UAW and that “the Union does not appear to be on the path to sustainable cultural reform.”