FBI raids homes of UAW union bosses as part of corruption probe

Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided the homes of the current and former presidents of the United Auto Workers on Wednesday, as part of a years-long probe into the union's alleged corruption.

What are the details?

The Michigan home of UAW president Gary Jones was searched by a dozen or so federal agents for six hours, and the California home of his predecessor, Dennis Williams, was raided the same day.

The Detroit Free Press reported that the FBI conducted a nationwide sweep of UAW-affiliated properties on Wednesday, including "the union's northern Michigan conference center; a UAW regional office in Missouri, where Jones was based previously, and the home of Williams aide Amy Loasching in Wisconsin."

According to CBS News, "the corruption investigation has so far led to the convictions of eight people linked to the UAW and to Fiat-Chrysler involving bribes and kickbacks designed to influence the nation's sixth largest union's bargaining position at contract talks with automakers."

The UAW is currently in negotiations with Detroit automakers.

Wednesday's raids were part of an ongoing probe launched four years ago, over allegations of money intended for training being redirected to line the pockets of union officials.

How did the UAW respond?

The UAW issued a statement Wednesday insisting that the union and Jones "have always fully cooperated with the government investigators in this matter. As the leader of the UAW, President Jones is determined to uncover and address any and all wrongdoing, wherever it might lead.

"There was absolutely no need for search warrants to be used by the government today — the UAW has voluntarily responded to every request the government has made throughout the course of its investigation, produced literally hundreds of thousands of documents and other materials to the government, and most importantly, when wrongdoing has been discovered, we have taken strong action to address it. The UAW will continue to cooperate with the government in its investigation, as we have been doing throughout.

"Trust in UAW leadership is never more important than during the bargaining process, when profit-laden auto companies stand to benefit from media leaks, false assumptions, and political grandstanding. The sole focus of President Jones and his team will be winning at the bargaining table for our members."