A court-appointed monitor overseeing operations of the United Automobile Workers union is investigating disputes involving union president Shawn Fain and two UAW officials who say they were improperly stripped of their duties.
The observer, Neil M. Barofsky, also accused the union on Monday of a “lack of cooperation” with the investigation, saying it had taken months to turn over relevant documents and then provided only a small fraction of those requested.
The union declined to comment.
The claims in question were included in a report filed in federal court in Michigan about Mr. Barofsky’s tenure as supervisor, which began in 2021 as part of a consent decree after Justice Department investigations that resulted in the convictions of several union leaders, including two former presidents, on corruption charges.
That process also resulted in the union’s first election of a president by vote of all members, a vote that elevated Fain, running as an insurgent candidate, to the top job in a runoff election last year.
One matter now being investigated, according to the filing, arises from a dispute over the role of the union’s secretary-treasurer, Margaret Mock. In February, the union’s international executive board voted in favor of Mr. Fain’s decision to strip Ms. Mock of duties that do not apply to her under the union’s bylaws, under accusations that she “had engaged in misconduct while was carrying out its financial oversight responsibilities,” according to the report.
Ms. Mock denied the allegations and claimed that the move had been “improperly instigated in retaliation for her refusal or reluctance to authorize certain expenses” for the president’s office, according to the report.
Additionally, the report said Barofsky’s staff was investigating allegations by a vice president who last month was stripped of oversight of the union’s Stellantis department. According to the report, the union said the action had been taken against vice president Rich Boyer for “dereliction of duty,” but the official claimed he had been the victim of retaliation for “refusing to engage in acts of financial crime.” misconduct for the benefit of others.”
The union had made officials and members available to investigators for interview, according to the monitor’s report, but “in practice slowed the monitor’s access to the requested documents,” which numbered about 116,000. According to the report, some 2,600 documents have been delivered, most in recent days.
The supervisor’s report did not request any action by the court, so the next steps of the investigation were unclear.
While the union’s legacy of corruption hung over his most recent election, it was another issue – a promise to be tough in contract negotiations with Detroit automakers and rule out “corporate unionism” – that brought Fain to the ballot. presidency.
He made good on that promise in negotiations last fall, gradually ramping up pressure in six weeks of strikes at select Ford, General Motors and Stellantis plants en route to securing some of the union’s biggest gains in decades.
Amid that effort, there were signs of tension involving Ms. Mock, who expressed concerns to board members about the cost of the strikes to the union’s budget. She proposed reducing spending on organizing during strikes, but the board dismissed the proposal in a special meeting, The New York Times reported, citing two people familiar with the meeting.
Ms. Mock and Mr. Boyer could not be reached for comment on Monday for this article.
According to a union biography, Ms. Mock became active in UAW affairs after being hired at a Chrysler plant in 1994. The biography calls her “an experienced financial officer and a fierce protector of the interests of UAW members.” ”.
Boyer joined the union in 1985 at a Chrysler factory and held union positions for nearly three decades, according to the union website.
An electrician and grandson of a UAW member, Mr. Fain joined the union in 1994, also at a Chrysler plant. Chrysler is now part of Stellantis.