The president of the United Auto Workers union, who has been linked to an ongoing corruption probe by US federal officials, has taken a leave of absence, the union said on Saturday in a statement.
Gary Jones’ leave of absence, which follows a vote by the executive board, will be effective beginning Sunday, the UAW said. He will be replaced on an acting basis by Rory Gamble, who recently led the team that negotiated a new labor deal with Ford Motor Co, the union said.
“The UAW is fighting tooth and nail to ensure our members have a brighter future. I do not want anything to distract from the mission. I want to do what’s best for the members of this great union,” Jones said in the statement, which did not give a reason for his decision.
UAW spokesman Brian Rothenberg declined to comment on the matter. An attorney for Jones, who has not been charged with any wrongdoing, could not immediately be reached for comment.
The FBI has been conducting a wide-ranging investigation into illegal payoffs to UAW officials by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and the union had hoped to put the federal probe behind it by electing Jones, a former regional director for the union, as president in 2018.
Jones will be paid while on leave, according to a person familiar with the process who asked not to be identified.
He had been chosen as president as he seemed removed from the scandal, sources have said, but in late August, the FBI conducted searches at Jones’ suburban Detroit home and other locations.
A source previously said Jones was “UAW Official A” identified in criminal complaints filed against other UAW leaders. The complaints said that officials took part in alleged schemes to embezzle funds from the union.
The US Attorney’s Office in Detroit has declined to identify the unnamed union leaders in the criminal complaints it has filed.
The widening probe raises questions about whether the US government might seek to take over the UAW. In 1988, the US Justice Department sued to force out senior leaders at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union and appoint a trustee because of the union’s connection to organized crime.
