United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain is the subject of a new federal probe centering on his role as the union leader. The probe aims to determine whether he abused his power and position during his tenure.
According to a court filing released on June 10, federal monitor Neil Barofsky found that the UAW's unwillingness to share documents and information made it difficult to investigate certain union issues.
Barofsky noted that in February 2024, he began taking a closer look at a fight between the UAW president and secretary-treasurer Margaret Mock, who accused the union leader of stripping her authority in retaliation of not authorizing funds for Fain's office.
In addition, the federal monitor noted that he was also looking whether Fain removed VP Rich Boyer from his position as Stellantis division head as an act of retaliation, as well as possible embezzlement by a UAW regional director in a separate, unrelated probe.
In all of these investigations, the federal monitor was met with delays when he requested documents for review. Such delays, Barofsky noted, not only prevented him from throughly investigating the incidences, but could result in a violation of a consent decree issued in 2020.
"With more than three months having passed since the inception of the monitor’s investigation, and only a small fraction of the requested documents produced, the monitor’s assessment is that the union’s delay of relevant documents is obstructing and interfering with his access to information needed for his investigative work, and, if left unaddressed, is an apparent violation of the consent decree," Barofsky wrote.
However, the filing notes that the allegations are not set in stone and remain simply as allegations, noting that “they prove nothing in themselves, and nothing in this Report should be construed as reaching any conclusion about possible charges, if any, for suspected misconduct.”
In a statement to the Detroit Free Press, Fain remained optimistic and welcomed the monitor's investigation.
"Taking our union in a new direction means sometimes you have to rock the boat, and that upsets people who want to keep the status quo, but our membership expects better and deserves better than the old business as usual," Fain told the Detroit Free Press.
"We encourage the Monitor to investigate whatever claims are brought to their office because we know what they’ll find: a UAW leadership committed to serving the membership and running a democratic union. We’re staying focused on winning record contracts, growing our union, and fighting for economic and social justice on and off the job."
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Barofsky was appointed as an independent monitor by U.S. District Judge David Lawson after a major corruption scandal came to light in 2020, which saw several former union leaders including two former UAW presidents, as well as several auto executives get federal convictions.
The federal probe is another roadblock in the way of the UAW under the leadership of union president Shawn Fain. Following major victories securing record contracts for workers at Detroit's Big Three automakers, the UAW began a campaign targeting foreign automakers at its plants in the south.
So far, the UAW has successfully won a representation vote at Volkswagen in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but has hit a major bump at Mercedes in Alabama.
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