UAW President Under Investigation by Federal Monitor for Alleged Abuse of Power

United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain is under investigation by a federal court-appointed watchdog tasked with monitoring the union and rooting out corruption, filing shows judicial decision of June 10. The Monitor's Neil Barofsky is examining whether Fain abused his power as union president and accuses union leaders, including Fain, of obstructing the investigation and interfering with his access to information.

These actions could violate a 2020 consent decree between the UAW and the U.S. Department of Justice, which averted a federal union takeover. “The Observer attempted for months to obtain cooperation from the Union to gather the information necessary to conduct a thorough investigation, but the Union effectively slowed down the Observer's access to the requested documents” , the court filing says.

Barofsky recently expanded the investigation to include additional allegations of retaliation by Fain against a union vice president. He also opened an independent investigation into another member of the UAW's International Executive Council, a regional director, following allegations of potential embezzlement.

Fain responded to the complaint without addressing specific issues, saying: “Taking our union in a new direction sometimes means shaking things up, which upsets some people who want to maintain the status quo, but our members are expect better and deserve better. than the old status quo. We encourage the Observatory to investigate complaints brought to its office because we know what it will find: UAW leadership committed to serving its members and leading a democratic union.

The union is currently involved in a national campaign to unionize non-union automakers. The accusations come after Fain's leadership led the UAW to win record contracts last year with General Motors, Ford and Stellantis.

Barofsky's concerns began in February when the Monitor began investigating current members of the International Executive Board (IEB), including Fain, the secretary-treasurer and a regional director. Union leaders launched the investigation after stripping Secretary-Treasurer Margaret Mock of all required unconstitutional responsibilities due to allegations of misconduct in her financial oversight role. Mock then alleged that the accusations against her were false and that her authority was taken away in retaliation for her reluctance to authorize certain expenditures.

The filing reveals that more than three months after the Monitor's initial request for documents, the union has provided only a small portion of the potentially relevant documents. The Monitor argues that this delay in producing the documents hinders the investigation and potentially constitutes a violation of the consent decree. These potential violations could have serious consequences for the UAW and its leaders.

The consent decree follows a years-long corruption investigation into the union involving embezzlement, bribery and other accusations. The investigation resulted in the convictions of several union leaders and Fiat Chrysler executives, including two former UAW presidents.