Federal monitor says UAW President Shawn Fain retaliated against top officer, misused authority

According to CNBC, the federally appointed monitor overseeing the United Auto Workers said in a report released Thursday that union President Shawn Fain retaliated against top officer Rich Boyer and improperly used his authority, including actions that could benefit Fain’s fiancée and her sister. Monitor Neil Barofsky said some evidence could warrant discipline but he deferred any decision pending further review, with the report coming ahead of a UAW leadership election in which Fain is seeking a second four-year term. Fain said Barofsky’s reports were politically motivated and tied the timing to a dispute in 2024 over the union executive board’s call for a ceasefire in Gaza, while a spokesperson for Jenner & Block, Barofsky’s law firm, defended his conduct. The report said Fain pushed for bonuses for non-union employees at a Stellantis training center that would have benefited his fiancée and urged Stellantis and union leaders to intervene in a workers’ compensation matter involving his fiancée’s sister after she was injured at a Stellantis plant; it also said Fain stripped Boyer of certain duties after Boyer objected, duties that were later reassigned back to Boyer following a prior monitor report.