密歇根新闻广播 美国联合汽车工会腐败事件

It's a challenging time, to say the least, for the United Auto¹ Workers Union. The UAW's president is on paid leave amidst a widening federal corruption² probe, which has resulted in 13 charges and 10 guilty pleas.

Acting³ president Rory Gamble has pledged to “clean up the UAW, but how do its rank and file members feel about their union's future?

Nicole Henning works at General Motor's Lansing Delta⁴ Township Assembly plant and is a member of UAW Local 602. Willie Holmes is president of UAW Local 167 in West Michigan, and he works at GM's parts plant in Wyoming.

Holmes said that revelations regarding the corruption at the UAW's top levels are disheartening, and that many union members feel they've been taken advantage of by their leadership. Henning echoed that sentiment.

We elect leaders in positions to represent our UAW as a whole, and they're put in those positions to do what they think is best… Henning said. So when they do things that jeopardize⁵ our image or jeopardize the trust of our members, it's really disappointing.

In order to rebuild members' trust, Henning said new UAW leaders will have to show that they're willing to change. She's believes that many of the steps they have announced so far will create a lot more transparency and ensure that members will have a better idea of what's going on within their union.

Holmes also notes that union members have been unbelievably engaged as the corruption probe has played out. They were also the main force pushing for the recent 40-day strike.

It wasn't the leadership for once, it was actually the membership that decided⁶ to strike. So as president, at that point, I was proud to be president because I thought to myself ‘Well now these members really, truly understand what it means to be engaged with your union,' Holmes said.

Henning argued that if the actions of one person or very few people are allowed to speak for the entire union's membership, it will give the UAW a very bad image.

I want people to understand that our union isn't just the people at the top, it's not just the people that we elect to represent us, Henning said. Our union is all of us, every member that pays union dues, every person that stands up and volunteers in the community.

1 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

2 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

3 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

4 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

5 jeopardize   

vt.危及，损害

参考例句：

• Overworking can jeopardize your health.工作过量可能会危及你的健康。
• If you are rude to the boss it may jeopardize your chances of success.如果你对上司无礼，那就可能断送你成功的机会。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。