Dennis D. Williams (born May 1953[1]) is a former American labor union leader, who was convicted ofembezzlement.
Williams grew up with a foster family, and served in theUnited States Marines. After being demobbed, he became a welder withJ.I. Case inRock Island, Illinois, and in 1977 he joined theUnited Auto Workers (UAW) union. In 1988, he began working full-time for the union's organizing department. He became a regional director in 2001, based inChicago, during which time he was the first UAW leader to endorseBarack Obama's presidential bid.[2][3]
In 2010, Williams was elected as secretary-treasurer of the UAW. In this role, he was prominent in negotiating contracts with carmakers in Detroit, and was credited with securing an increase in membership dues, improving the union's finances. He was elected as the union's president in 2014, proposing focusing on the national income gap, negotiations with employers, and the2016 United States presidential election.[2][3] He was also elected as a vice president of theAFL-CIO, and chaired the federation's Industrial Union Council.[4]
Williams promised to serve only a single four-year term as leader of the UAW,[5] and he retired as planned in 2018. By that time, allegations of financial corruption in the union had emerged.[6] Williams insisted that he knew nothing about many of the cases, but in September 2020 he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to embezzle union funds. He was sentenced to 21 months in prison, was fined $10,000, and ordered to repay $132,000 to the UAW.[1]
| Trade union offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Secretary-Treasurer of theUnited Auto Workers 2010–2014 | Succeeded by Gary Casteel |
| Preceded by | President of theUnited Auto Workers 2014–2018 | Succeeded by |