UAW Seeks to Shield Union President’s Texts From Federal Probe

The United Auto Workers clashed with a government-appointed monitor in Michigan federal court Tuesday to avoid handing over texts from union president Shawn Fain as part of wider probe into dealings with members of the executive board.

UAW attorneys in Detroit told a judge the federal monitor, Neil Barofsky of Jenner and Block LLP, overstepped his authority by demanding Fain’s communications, which they said may contain privileged information on strategy and management.

Attorneys for Barofsky, who was present but didn’t speak at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan hearing, painted the union’s refusal as a grave threat to his oversight under a 2020 agreement to settle an expansive corruption scandal.

It was the latest turn in a conflict that could have profound consequences for Fain, a rising star in labor, and for rank-and-file autoworkers, already facing layoffs and strained relations with their employers as the industry struggles to shift to electric vehicles.

Barofksy told the court in a July filing he was investigating allegations that Fain sought perks for his fiancée while she was employed by the union, and related accusations that Fain stripped a UAW vice president, Rich Boyer, of key duties when he objected to Fain’s conduct.

Barofsky has accused top union officials of “delaying and obstructing” his investigation of Fain and two deputies by refusing to hand over key documents.

The monitor is also probing a dispute between Fain and Secretary-Treasurer Margaret Mock, who had some of her power stripped by the union’s executive board in February over allegations that she withheld funds for political leverage. Mock and Boyer were both present at the hearing but didn’t address the court.

UAW attorney Harold Gurewitz told Judge David Lawson Tuesday that the union has produced 2 million pages of documents to the monitor and only about 600 have been redacted. He said the review process is headed by attorneys and firms that specialize in data collection, and isn’t subject to the whims of union leaders.

The only documents that have been withheld are texts from Fain’s phone, he said.

Fain has in the past suggested he’s only a target because of his aggressive approach to dealing with the auto companies.

“Taking our union in a new direction means sometimes you have to rock the boat, and that upsets people who want to keep the status quo,” he said in a June statement.

Barofsky’s court reports over the past several months describe a broader—and increasingly militant—pattern of non-cooperation by the UAW, alleging that union officials have stonewalled document requests essential to the monitor’s oversight.

But the UAW has refuted that characterization, arguing in court filings that Barofsky doesn’t have unlimited authority to summon documents, particularly those related to collective bargaining and certain administrative functions.

The case is United States v. United Auto Workers, E.D. Mich., No. 2:20-cv-13293, hearing held 11/26/24.