Federal watchdog investigates UAW president, other officials

Independent court-appointed monitor Neil Barofsky on Monday reported that he was investigating United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain and other officials at the union. Fain rose to national prominence late last year when he oversaw weeks of strikes against Detroit’s big three auto manufacturers. U.S. President Joe Biden appeared at UAW picket lines and voiced his support for the striking workers. Fain later endorsed Biden’s reelection campaign.

What exactly is the monitor looking into concerning Fain and other union leaders? In February, Barofsky began investigating allegations that Fain limited the secretary-treasurer’s responsibilities after alleging she’d engaged in misconduct. The monitor noted that the secretary-treasurer denied the allegations, calling them a false attempt to discredit her. She also said the allegations and limits on her responsibilities were a punishment for refusing to authorize funds to cover expenses for individuals in the UAW president’s office.

In May, Barofsky began investigating allegations that Fain removed authority from one of the union’s vice presidents overseeing the UAW’s negotiations with auto manufacturer Stellantis under false pretenses. Barofsky reported that Fain’s reason for the action was that the vice president had failed to negotiate effectively with the company. But others at the company told Barofsky that Fain’s allegation was false, and his real reason for limiting the vice president’s authority was that he refused to participate in financial misconduct to benefit others at the company.

As he began investigating these allegations, Barofsky said the union ceased cooperating with him as thoroughly as in previous years. At that time, the monitor began investigating incidents involving Fain and the organization’s vice president and secretary-treasurer, according to his report. Barofsky said the organization has made officials and employees available for interviews but has limited his access to documents. It provided him with only 2,600 of the roughly 116,000 documents he requested in recent months, according to court documents. The UAW alleged the documents are protected by privilege, the monitor said.

WORLD contacted the UAW for a response to Barofsky’s report but did not immediately receive a response.

Why is an independent monitor looking into the union? The Justice Department entered into a consent decree with the UAW in 2020. The consent decree settled a federal anti-corruption and anti-fraud lawsuit against the UAW by enlisting a court-appointed monitor to oversee the union’s internal procedures for six years or until the monitor determined his services were no longer necessary. The monitor was supposed to ensure the union remained corruption-free.

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s report in The Sift about UAW President Shawn Fain endorsing Biden for reelection.