The hits keep coming for the United Auto Workers union as President Gary Jones announced he will resign amid a sprawling federal corruption probe.
Federal agents raided Jones’ house in August as part of a multiyear investigation into corruption at the union that employs workers for major U.S. automakers like General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler. Jones has not been charged by U.S. prosecutors yet, but he has been on a leave of absence since Nov. 4.
On Wednesday, the union said the entirety of the UAW International Executive Board is in support of removing Jones, and the board is filing the necessary paperwork to do so. Vance Pearson, a regional director who had been charged in September for embezzling union funds, will also be removed.
“This is a somber day, but our UAW Constitution has provided the necessary tools to deal with these charges,” UAW acting president Rory Gamble said in a statement, according to CNBC.
But it looks like Jones beat them to the punch by announcing his retirement, according to an email from his attorney Bruce Maffeo, who also claims the decision to retire was made before finding out the union was preparing to remove him.
Jones, who has been a UAW member for 44 years after starting as a factory worker, stepped down to let the union focus on its core mission of improving the lives of members and their families, Maffeo said.
It was a busy day for the UAW Wednesday, as mere hours before Jones’ exit it was revealed that GM was filing a racketeering lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler, alleging its crosstown rival got an unfair business advantage by bribing UAW officials.
“FCA was the clear sponsor of pervasive wrongdoing, paying millions of dollars in bribes to obtain concessions” from the union, GM General Counsel Craig Glidden said. “FCA’s manipulation of the collective bargaining process resulted in unfair labor costs and operational advantages for it, causing harm to GM.”
In a statement, Fiat Chrysler called the lawsuit “meritless” and said it would defend itself vigorously. It also accused GM of trying to disrupt its proposed merger with French automaker PSA Peugeot as well as ongoing contract talks with the UAW.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.