The United Auto Workers and the union’s President Shawn Fain scored a major victory with strikes of the Big Three Detroit automakers, but the union has new problems, according to a federal watchdog investigation.
The UAW has been under a federal watchdog as part of a 2020 agreement, which prevented a full federal takeover, after extended criminal investigations into corruption in the union. A report from court-appointed monitor Neil Barofsky filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on Monday accused the union of obstructing efforts for the monitor to receive documents, while also saying he is investigating allegations of retaliation by Fain toward other union leaders.
“With more than three months having passed since the inception of the Monitor’s investigation, and only a small fraction of the requested documents produced, the Monitor’s assessment is that the Union’s delay of relevant documents is obstructing and interfering with his access to information needed for his investigative work, and, if left unaddressed, is an apparent violation of the Consent Decree,” Barofsky wrote in the Monday filing.
The claims Barofsky is investigating stem from allegations Secretary-Treasurer Margaret Mock made that she was stripped of her authority for “her refusal or reluctance to authorize certain expenditures of funds at the request of and/or for the benefit of those in the President’s Office.”
The union’s International Executive Board voted in February to strip her authority after allegations that she had “engaged in misconduct while carrying out her financial oversight responsibilities,” which the monitor is also investigating. Another unnamed member of the board is being investigated over allegations of embezzlement, according to the filing.
Barofsky also noted that the allegations made are currently being investigated and are far from a conclusion.
“At this stage, it is important to emphasize that the allegations are just allegations. They prove nothing in themselves, and nothing in this Report should be construed as reaching any conclusion about possible charges, if any, for suspected misconduct,” Barofsky wrote.
In a statement to the Detroit News, Fain said that he “encourages” the monitor to look into the claims, and insisted he would not find any wrongdoing by union leadership.
“We encourage 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. We’re staying focused on winning record contracts, growing our union, and fighting for economic and social justice on and off the job,” Fain said.
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Fain is the first democratically elected president of the union, being elected by UAW members in 2023. The UAW made national headlines last year when they went on strike against General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis in September and reached an agreement in the succeeding months.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the UAW for comment on the court filing.