United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain retaliated against a senior union official and improperly used the power of his office to pursue financial benefits and preferential treatment for members of his fiancée’s family, according to a damning report from the union’s court-appointed federal monitor.
The findings threaten the reformist image Fain cultivated while rising to lead a union still operating under federal oversight after a sprawling corruption scandal sent two former UAW presidents and numerous other officials to prison.
Neil Barofsky, the independent monitor appointed under the UAW’s consent decree with the Justice Department, concluded that Fain improperly stripped Vice President Rich Boyer of his authority over the union’s Stellantis department in May 2024.
Fain publicly accused Boyer of seven separate instances of misconduct and dereliction of duty. But after reviewing documents and interviewing witnesses, the monitor found that each allegation was unsupported, unfounded, or exaggerated. In some cases, the report said, Fain knew his accusations were false when he made them.
Barofsky concluded that the removal was part of a “recurring pattern of retaliation” against union officials who refused to carry out Fain’s demands. The UAW eventually restored Boyer’s Stellantis responsibilities in January.
According to the report, Fain was angered after Boyer settled roughly 200 health and safety grievances at Stellantis’ Warren Stamping plant rather than pursuing an alternative strategy Fain had not disclosed to him. Fain also ordered Boyer to fire or demote two senior staff members, effectively warning him that he would lose control of the Stellantis department if he refused.
Boyer rejected the ultimatum and told Fain he would not allow himself to be bullied. Hours later, Fain removed him from the position.
The report found that Fain then relied on the seven other allegations as a pretext to conceal the real reasons for the punishment.
The monitor also discovered that nearly all text messages between Fain and a top administrative assistant during the critical period had been deleted from Fain’s phone. An electronic message containing the talking points for Fain’s ultimatum was recovered from the aide’s phone, while a related memorandum appeared to have been destroyed.
The investigation further substantiated allegations that Fain improperly sought a cash bonus for non-union employees at the Stellantis National Training Center. Fain’s fiancée worked at the center and stood to benefit financially from the proposed payment.
The monitor found that Boyer’s refusal to approve the bonus may have contributed to Fain’s decision to retaliate against him.
Fain also used multiple channels to intervene in a workers’ compensation dispute involving his fiancée’s sister, who was injured at a Stellantis plant in 2024.
The report said Fain contacted senior Stellantis management, Boyer, a UAW benefits representative, and his own top administrative assistant about the matter. Witnesses said the woman was being treated under the same rules that applied to other injured UAW members, but Fain pressed officials to allow her to remain home rather than report for restricted-duty work.
Barofsky concluded that Fain used union personnel and resources to pursue a private family matter, calling the conduct an “abuse of his authority.”
The monitor has not yet recommended punishment, saying a decision on potential remedies will come after further consultation with the Justice Department and other parties to the consent decree. Fain has not been charged with a crime.
Fain denied the findings and accused Barofsky of releasing a “politically charged and false” report shortly before the UAW’s leadership election, noted Reuters. He claimed the monitor has held a personal grudge since a 2024 disagreement over the union’s call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
A spokesperson for Jenner & Block, Barofsky’s law firm, defended the monitor’s professionalism and integrity.
The report arrives as Fain seeks another four-year term as UAW president. Boyer, one of his most prominent internal rivals, is running against him, with ballots scheduled to be mailed to union members in August.
Fain took power after campaigning as an insurgent reformer determined to clean up a union whose previous leaders had treated member money and union authority as personal property, but instead he has focused mostly on pushing a radical leftwing agenda. Most recently, UAW endorsed the DSA candidate for Senate in Michigan who recently appeared to give backing to the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
[Read More: Trump Advisor Under Investigation]
