Court Monitor Faults UAW President

A court-appointed monitor charged with overseeing the internal governance practices of the United Auto Workers issued a 93-page report on June 17 that accused the UAW’s president, Shawn Fain, of a variety of misdeeds against the union’s Secretary-Treasurer, Margaret Mock.

More specifically, the monitor alleged Mock “was falsely accused of misconduct, subjected to retaliatory action by Fain, and improperly stripped of her responsibility for various departments and board assignments.”

Those actions were based on “claims that she ‘weaponized’ financial policies, obstructed Union operations, and sought to improperly influence Board votes,” which the monitor said “were either unsupported or outright unfounded.”

Contrary to the claims against Mock, the report found that she “consistently and strictly applied Union policy, guided by a commitment to accountability in the wake of the UAW’s past financial scandals.” It further found that her removal was “a consequence of her refusal to grant exceptions to the strict policy restrictions governing the expenditure of Union resources, including to those within Fain’s inner circle.”

As a result of Mock’s refusal to accede to Fain’s demands, the monitor said “Fain acted on a premeditated plan to take action against Mock—one that aligned with Fain’s earlier, widely reported warning that he would ‘slit [the] f[***]ing throats’ of anyone who interfered with his staff.”

The monitor said Fain’s actions violated the UAW constitution called on the union’s International Executive Board (IEB) or one of the union’s appellate boards to reverse Fain’s adverse actions against Mock and restore her responsibilities and assignments. Given that an IEB report prompted Fain’s actions in the first place, time will tell if it will do so. If not, there may be more legal trouble brewing at the UAW.

Sean P. Redmond is Vice President, Labor Policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.