UAW union boss Shawn Fain under investigation by federal monitor

United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain and other members of the union’s International Executive Board (EIB) are under investigation by the federal monitor appointed to oversee the union, court documents filed Monday revealed.

Neil Barofsky, the former federal prosecutor assigned to provide independent oversight of the union, opened a probe in February after the EIB moved to allow Fain to pull all field assignments from UAW Secretary-Treasurer Margaret Mock, which Mock claimed was done in retaliation for her refusal to authorize certain expenditures by the president’s office. 

Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers (UAW), speaks at the United Auto Workers conference in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024.  (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

The monitor is also looking into claims by the EIB that Mock “engaged in misconduct while carrying out her financial oversight responsibilities,” the filing states.

The investigation into Fain was then expanded a few months later after another EIB member, UAW Vice President Rich Boyer, claimed Fain removed him from overseeing the union’s relationship with Stellantis in retaliation for Boyer “refusing to engage in acts of financial misconduct to benefit others.”

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The filing further said the monitor also opened a separate investigation into another EIB member, a UAW regional director, in April, over allegations of embezzlement.

The monitor said the union had not produced the documents he requested quickly enough. UAW officials have turned over approximately 2,600 documents of the potentially relevant pool of about 116,000 documents, according to the filing.

The Department of Justice also informed the monitor that the union’s position was “making it difficult, if not impossible, for the Monitor to fulfill his mandate to remove fraud, corruption and illegality from within the UAW,” the filing said.

FOX Business reached out to the UAW for comment on the investigations.

United Automobile Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain speaks as UAW members and their supporters gather for Solidarity Sunday at the UAW Region 1 office in Warren, Michigan, on Aug. 20, 2023.  (JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Fain said in a statement to Reuters that he encouraged 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 added “taking our union in a new direction means sometimes you have to rock the boat, and that upsets some people who want to keep the status quo.”

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Barofsky was appointed federal monitor in 2021 as the UAW grappled with a corruption scandal that resulted in the federal convictions of several former leaders. Two former UAW presidents were sentenced to prison time as part of the probe.

Fain assumed his post last year after narrowly winning the first direct election in the union’s history. He led the labor group through a six-week strike against the Detroit automakers last fall, and is spearheading a nationwide organizing campaign across the U.S. South and West.

US President Joe Biden, right, and Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers (UAW), at the United Auto Workers conference in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024.  (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Fain has emerged as an important figure for President Biden during this election year as the U.S. leader tries to win over autoworkers and voters in Michigan, a key swing state.

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Biden joined Fain at a picket line in Michigan to support striking autoworkers in September. Fain also attended the 2024 State of the Union Address, after the UAW endorsed Biden in January.

Reuters contributed to this report.