BROADCASTS.com

b'

The UAW has been struggling, for a while now, as fallout from corruption investigations has implicated more and more of its ranking members, including president Gary Jones, who abruptly resigned from the organization this past November.

Jones, who was being charged by the union of misusing funds, was just one of more than a dozen UAW execs pursued for various corruption allegations. But one exec that\\u2019s still leading the charge is Rory Gamble, the union president who stepped in take Gary Jones\\u2019s place. And what better way for the UAW to commemorate Gamble and the union\\u2019s fresh start, than by handing out promotional pens at a lobbying event this week with his name on them.

But there\\u2019s one problem. The Detroit News published a story last week that detailed backlash from union members who were not pleased to see the pens emblazoned with the name of their country of origin: China.

Meoshee Edwards, a 23-year UAW member who works at Detroit\\u2019s Hamtramck plant reportedly called the pens \\u201chypocritical\\u201d and a spokesperson for the union said, simply, \\u201cthe UAW agrees.\\u201d The UAW\\u2019s bidding process requires that items purchased come from union-made U.S. plants. So what happened? In this case, the union says the manufacturer flubbed the order.

And New Jersey-based Bankers Pen, Inc. says the union is 100 percent right \\u2013 they did mess up the order, by grabbing pen parts from their China-made inventory, rather than the U.S.-made stock, due to a processing error. Bankers President Richard Danziger told the Detroit News that it was \\u201cabsolutely someone in my facility\\u201d and that the company would do whatever it takes to make it right.

Unfortunately for the UAW, it\\u2019s just more drama at a time when the union doesn\\u2019t need it. The organization has been known for wearing a mantle of \\u201cBuy American\\u201d and even publishes shopping guides on where to buy union-made goods.

Download and listen to the audio version below and click here to subscribe to the Today in Manufacturing podcast.