Two female staffers allege UAW leader Rich Rankin sexually harassed them.

Despite dealing with arraignment in federal court on federal criminal charges, the United Auto Workers is facing new challenges.

The UAW executive board has hired a Washington, D.C to investigate claims of sexual harassment and discrimination against one of its own, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

The journal said two female staffers allege Region 2B Director Richard Rankin repeatedly made sexually charged remarks to them, and in one instance escalated to a physical threat. The investigation began in January after a group of UAW-represented nurses filed a separate formal grievance to the union’s board involving Rankin.

(Feds charge former UAW President Gary Jones with embezzlement, failure to pay taxes.)

The U.S. Attorney’s office in Detroit worked in concert with the FBI, the IRS and other government agencies in the investigation of the UAW.

A union spokesman confirmed Monday that it had hired an outside investigator to look into allegations made in Region 2B but declined to say whom the allegations were against.

Rankin, the youngest member of the UAW executive board and a potential candidate for the union’s presidency, is the director of Region 2B, which is responsible for UAW chapters in Ohio and Indiana.

“The UAW takes claims of sexual harassment and discrimination very seriously,” spokesman Brian Rothenberg said in a statement. “We strongly believe in fostering a workplace that is free from intimidation, retaliation and harassment of any kind.

(UAW President’s key aide faces federal criminal charges.)

“The UAW has hired an outside investigator to look into the allegations of discrimination and harassment and we are awaiting the results of that investigation. In addition, there is an ongoing review of an internal complaint on those issues. If we find that there was misconduct in the workplace, we will take appropriate corrective action,” the union statement said.

Gary Jones, former president UAW International, was charged with embezzlement and failure to pay taxes on the money he embezzled.

The investigation comes amid a federal investigation into corruption inside that has so far resulted in charges against 14 people and resulted in 13 guilty pleas. The most recent charges came last week, when prosecutors alleged former UAW President Gary Jones embezzled more than $1 million from the union he once led.

While the union represents nurses, graduate students, social workers and lawyers as well as casino workers, it’s basic internal culture sometimes reflects old-fashioned attitudes from the factory floor where women are often dismissed or demeaned.

(UAW moves to expel eight more former executives.)

In 2017, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, reached a $10 million settlement with Ford Motor Co. for sexual and racial harassment at the company’s assembly plant and stamping plant on the south side of Chicago plants. The EEOC found that the local UAW officials often instigated or participated in the harassment that formed the basis of the complaint against Ford.