Justice Department probes UAW chief Shawn Fain over retaliation claims

The Justice Department is investigating allegations that United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain used his office to improperly benefit his fiancée and retaliated against union Vice President Rich Boyer. The allegations were already under review by the UAW’s federal monitor, Neil Barofsky, before the criminal investigation opened.

Barofsky was appointed by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on May 12, 2021, under a consent decree tied to the union’s 2020 corruption settlement. His office has continued issuing reports at least every six months, and its Sixteenth Status Report, filed June 25, 2026, addressed the competing allegations between Fain and Boyer. The monitor previously found that Fain retaliated against Boyer and used his authority in ways that could benefit his fiancée and her sister, though it stopped short of immediate discipline.

Fain was elected UAW president in March 2023 and led the union’s six-week strike against Ford, General Motors and Stellantis in the fall of 2023.

Delegates nominated candidates at the union’s 39th Constitutional Convention in Detroit from June 15-18, 2026. Ballots are scheduled to be mailed in late August, with a return deadline of October 5, 2026, and Boyer is among the challengers standing against Fain. The monitor also published the official rules for the 2026 election on May 15, 2026.

Fain and Barofsky exchanged comments on February 21, 2024, over the union’s Gaza-related statements, after Fain defended the union’s ceasefire position. Fain has denied the monitor’s findings and said he was weighing his legal options, while the UAW declined to comment and a union lawyer said the organization was not the subject of the grand jury probe. Former UAW presidents Dennis Williams and Gary Jones were convicted on corruption-related charges, and Rory Gamble was scrutinized in a separate probe that did not lead to charges.