The UAW paid nearly $81 million in benefits to striking workers last year, according to a federal filing Tuesday.
The filing also noted that the union's top negotiator against General Motors earned more than a quarter of a million dollars.
While the UAW had several strikes last year, the bulk of that $80,723,635 was spent on the union's 40-day strike against GM last fall.
“The GM strike was definitely the largest of the strikes we had last year," said UAW spokesman Brian Rothenberg. "But the UAW had the Mercy Health St. Vincent nurses strike in Toledo, the Mack heavy-truck strike and the Aramark strike among others."
Still, the UAW's strike fund totaled $739 million at the end of the year, down from $767 million at the start of 2019, he said. The reason that difference is only about $28 million rather than $80 million is because members continued to pay union dues and the fund earned interest, Rothenberg said.
The UAW has capped its strike fund at $850 million. When it reaches that figure, membership dues drop until the fund gets to $650 million, at which point the dues automatically increase again, Rothenberg said.
The union's annual LM-2 Labor Department filing also showed that Terry Dittes, the UAW's lead negotiator against GM, was paid a total compensation of $256,051 in 2019. Cindy Estrada, the lead negotiator for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, was paid $216,695 in total compensation. And Rory Gamble, who was the top negotiator against Ford Motor for much of last year, was paid $215,548.
Gamble is now the UAW president, having replaced Gary Jones, who pleaded guilty to embezzlement in early June. The filing shows Jones was paid $340,539.
Tuesday's filing also showed the UAW has spent more than $2.3 million on legal fees to represent labor leaders during the ongoing scandal, including former presidents Jones and Dennis Williams.
But UAW membership increased by 3,125 to a total of 398,829 last year, according to the filing. That's a reversal from 2018, when the UAW lost more than 35,000 members.
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Contact Jamie L. LaReau at 313-222-2149 or jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter.
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The UAW paid heavily last year to strike General Motors - Detroit Free Press
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