The United Auto Workers union last week amended its constitution to permanently codify the direct election of senior leaders. The reform forces labor chiefs to answer to their members, and a report last month by the UAW’s federal monitor shows why such accountability is needed.

In 2021 a federal court in Michigan appointed Neil Barofsky to monitor the union as part of a consent decree between the UAW and the feds. That followed criminal convictions of 11 senior UAW leaders, including two past presidents. Officials had spent members’ dues money on posh getaways, custom golf gear, lavish meals, wine and other luxuries.