UAW Hands Over Records to Court Monitor Amid New Investigations

The United Auto Workers’ union has handed over documents it sought to shield from the corruption watchdog investigating union President Shawn Fain amid new allegations of misconduct by union officials.

The government-ordered monitor told a federal judge Monday that he was in possession of hundreds of documents that the union previously sought to keep from it, but hadn’t reached any conclusions in his investigation.

Judge David Lawson of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan ordered the autoworkers union to hand over texts from Fain after the union argued that the monitor, Neil Barofsky of Jenner and Block LLP, had overstepped his authority. Barofsky is investigating claims that Fain retaliated against another union official, threatening his status as union president and a rising star in the labor movement.

Barofsky said in a report to Lawson that its investigative team was combing through the records and looking into “new claims of misconduct” by union officials, but did not specify what the claims were.

The union didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The UAW is represented by union attorneys and lawyers from Bredhoff & Kaiser P.L.L.C., Gurewitz & Raben PLC, Cotsirilos, Tighe, Streicker, Poulos & Campbell, Ltd., and Eisner Dictor & Lamadrid, P.C.

The case is United States v. United Auto Workers, E.D. Mich., No. 2:20-cv-13293, Report docketed 1/13/25.