UAW president under investigation for alleged retaliation against union leaders

Federal observer says he is being denied documents while emphasizing that the allegations are just that and nothing more at the moment

Shawn Fain, the president of the UAW, is under investigation for allegedly retaliating against his fellow UAW leaders. In short, it is a question of whether he abused his power at the head of the union. So far, at least two main allegations have surfaced. Fain, for his part, seems happy to cooperate, but the observer says the UAW is withholding important documents.

The investigation began in February after the UAW secretary claimed he was retaliated against for refusing to authorize certain expenses from Fain's office. Subsequently, when Fain removed the head of the union's Stellantis division, new complaints emerged claiming that this action was also retaliatory. Now all parties involved are under investigation.

Read: UAW wants new election at Mercedes, says workers were bullied

The federal appointment of an observer follows a major corruption scandal within the UAW that came to light in 2021. As of now, the allegations do not have compelling evidence, but this could partly be due to the “slow processing” of the requested documents. in the monitor's office.

“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.

Notably, these are just allegations for now. “At this point, it is important to emphasize that the allegations are merely allegations,” the document notes. “They do not prove anything in themselves, and nothing in this report should be construed to draw a conclusion about possible charges, if any, for alleged misconduct.” The UAW president seems content for now to continue his momentum.

“Taking our union in a new direction sometimes means shaking things up, which upsets people who want to maintain the status quo, but our members expect better and deserve better than the status quo,” Fain said in a statement. communicated. at the Detroit Free Press.

“We encourage the Observatory to investigate all complaints brought to its office because we know what it will find: UAW leadership committed to serving its members and leading a democratic union. We remain focused on winning record contracts, growing our union, and fighting for economic and social justice on and off the job.

All of this comes as the union is making waves, many of them successfully, across the country. While he lost an important union vote at a Mercedes plant in Alabama, he won another in Tennessee, at a VW plant. Just before news of the investigation broke, she also won at an Ultium battery production plant.