UAW president under federal probe

United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain is under investigation by a federal court-appointed watchdog, a court filing Monday said.

The monitor, Neil Barofsky, has been tasked with monitoring the union and eliminating corruption. Barofsky will be examining if Fain abused his power as union president and violated a 2020 consent decree between the union and the Department of Justice.

In the filing, first reported by The Detroit News, Barofksy said union leaders have not cooperated after he revealed that there were investigations targeting Fain and the union’s secretary treasurer, Margaret Mock.

The watchdog said he’s investigating a fight between Fain and Mock, who has accused Fain of removing her from a position of authority out of retaliation after she refused to authorize spending for his office, the outlet reported.

Barofsky said he is also investigating whether Fain retaliated against one of the union’s vice presidents. The documents, filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit, also targeted one regional director who is not named.

The monitor wrote in the filing that since “only a small fraction” of the documents he requested have been produced, he has been led to believe the delay is “obstructing and interfering” with his access to information. He wrote it would be a violation of the consent decree if it goes unaddressed.

Fain took his position as president last year and led the union through a six-week strike against auto companies.

He’s become an important figure for President Biden in his campaign, who met with workers on the picket line and later received the union’s endorsement.

In a statement, Fain said he has taken the union in a new direction and sometimes that means “you have to rock the boat, and that upsets some people who want to keep the status quo.”

“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,” Fain’s statement said. “We’re staying focused on winning record contracts, growing our union, and fighting for economic and social justice on and off the job.”

The Associated Press reported that Barofsky was appointed in May 2021 as part of the government’s settlement that avoided a government takeover of the union in the fallout of a wide-ranging bribery and embezzlement scandal. 

Barofsky also accused the union of withholding information of previous misconduct allegations in July 2022, the AP reported.