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The President of the United Auto Workers, Shawn Fain, is reportedly under investigation by a court-appointed watchdog. According to reports, this watchdog is meant to watch the union leader to ensure there is no corruption happening within the union. This news comes after a federal court filing was released and after several other leaders in the union have been under watchful eyes due to years of scandals. The watchdog has been revealed to be Neil Barofsky, who currently is focusing on union leaders who have been accused of blocking access to union information. If these accusations come to light as truth, then these would go directly against a consent decree from 2020 from the Justice Department to the United Auto Workers.

Back in February, Fain and other leaders were accused of “an erosion of cooperation.”

Reportedly, Barofsky is also investigating the root of an argument that occurred between union President Fain and union Secretary Treasurer Margaret Mock. Thus far the released details point to an argument happening after Mock accused Fain of acting in retaliation and removing her authority after she was reluctant to authorize spending requests from Fain’s office that she deemed unnecessary. Fain is being investigated for several other actions in which reported behaviors of retaliation have occurred.

Barofsky has quite publicly stated that Fain is not cooperating with his ongoing investigation.

He claims that Fain is reluctant and hesitant to give Barofsky access to documents and only gives access to a select few at a time, causing immense delays in the investigation. This has only further fueled the investigation, leading some union leaders and members to be even more upset with and distrustful of Fain and his actions as the head of the union.

At this time, the investigation is not looking into any criminal accusations, merely ones in which Fain has acted out of his power as UAW president. The investigation focuses on misconduct that has either been reported and complained about or noted as the investigation has trekked on. This is not the first time misconduct has been reported within the UAW as a whole, nor the first time President Fain in particular has been the focus of an investigation. There is a reason they were placed under federal watch back in 2020, a reason many are far more understanding of now more than ever.