IN BRIEF
DETROIT — Members of the United Auto Workers executive board have voted to appoint Rory Gamble as the union's new president.
He will serve the remainder of former President Gary Jones' term, which runs until the union's convention in June of 2022.
Jones stepped down last month after being implicated in a widening embezzlement and bribery scandal at the union. He has not been charged with any crimes, but his Detroit-area home was raided by federal authorities last summer.
Gamble, 64, was a vice president who successfully led negotiations this year on a new contract with Ford Motor Co. Before that, he served as director of a regional office near Detroit. He was named acting president when Jones stepped down.
“This wasn't planned, and it is a tall order,” Gamble said in a statement. “I promise one thing: when I retire and turn over this office, we will deliver a clean union on solid footing.”
The union's International Executive Board voted unanimously for Gamble Thursday at a meeting in the Detroit suburb of Southfield, UAW spokesman Brian Rothenberg said.
Ten people with ties to the UAW have been charged in the corruption investigation. Eight have pleaded guilty, including two former vice presidents and the widow of another.
WARREN, Mich. — General Motors and Korea’s LG Chem have formed a joint venture to build an electric vehicle battery cell factory near Lordstown, Ohio, east of Cleveland.The companies also will work together on battery technology to bring down the cost for future GM electric vehicles.The new plant will create more than 1,100 jobs in the area around Youngstown, Ohio, and the joint venture plans to invest $2.3 billion in the plant and for battery development. GM says it will be among the largest battery factories in the world.They’ll break ground on the new plant sometime next year, but the exact location wasn’t disclosed.The new battery plant comes after GM closed a sprawling small-car assembly plant in Lordstown earlier this year.
