U.A.W. Monitor Reveals Details About Investigation Into Union Leader

A court-appointed monitor is currently investigating allegations that the president of the United Automobile Workers union retaliated against a vice president for resisting actions that would have benefited the president’s domestic partner and her sister. This disclosure was made in a court filing seeking access to internal union documents as part of an ongoing investigation into potential financial misconduct. The monitor, Neil Barofsky, has requested extensive access to these documents. The union has declined to comment on the matter. This investigation follows a 2021 consent decree that ended a federal corruption case against the union, involving 11 top officials who were convicted of felonies. Shawn Fain, the current president of the U.A.W., assumed the role in March 2023 with the aim of reforming the union, taking a firm stance with U.S. automakers, and organizing nonunion companies. The union has recently achieved significant victories, including wage and benefit increases through strikes and the successful unionization of a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga. However, it also faced a defeat in a high-profile election at two Mercedes plants in Alabama.