Can direct elections restore UAW as America’s most powerful labor union?

After a corruption scandal saw 12 union officials convicted of crimes, United Auto Workers members hope direct elections will bring inspiring leaders

The United Auto Workers, once America's most powerful labor union, a union that led the way in building America's middle class, has sunk into hard times, with a huge corruption scandal in which 12 union officials, including two former UAW presidents, have been convicted of crimes.

But now many rank-and-filers are hoping the union will regain its moral stature and some of its old swagger through a major push to inject more democracy into the union.