On the Dash:
- A federal monitor found evidence of retaliation, falsified allegations and deleted text messages involving senior UAW officials.
- The UAW reinstated key department leaders, disciplined staff and changed compliance reporting lines.
- Oversight remains in place as the union prepares for upcoming leadership elections and continued reform efforts.
The United Auto Workers has reshaped its top leadership after a court-appointed monitor found evidence that senior officials coordinated a retaliation scheme involving falsified allegations and deleted communications.
The changes follow a report filed Thursday by monitor Neil Barofsky, who oversees the union under a federal settlement stemming from its past corruption scandal. The report detailed how UAW President Shawn Fain’s chief of staff resigned after investigators found he worked with the union’s former compliance director to undermine Secretary-Treasurer Margaret Mock. The union will restore Mock’s departmental responsibilities in early 2026, pending board approval.
The UAW also reinstated Vice President Rich Boyer as head of the Stellantis Department and disciplined Communications Director Jonah Furman, who was reassigned to a subordinate role after a two-week unpaid suspension. The Compliance Department will no longer report directly to the president and instead will answer to the union’s executive board.
Barofsky’s report outlined extensive destruction of text messages tied to the investigation. At least 123 messages were deleted from Fain’s phone during periods central to the probe, including communications related to efforts to remove Mock from her leadership roles. Similar deletions were identified on the former compliance director’s phone. Investigators were able to recover many of the missing messages from other UAW officials.
The report concluded the deletions followed a selective pattern and lacked a credible explanation. Barofsky also detailed how internal reports were altered to add false allegations while omitting information that would have cleared Mock.
Several resignations followed confrontations with evidence uncovered during the investigation, including the compliance director’s departure earlier this year and the planned exit of Fain’s former chief of staff by the end of 2025. The union has since named new leadership in those roles.
While Barofsky acknowledged progress in strengthening compliance systems related to purchasing, hiring and political spending, he said those improvements continue to be overshadowed by a culture of retaliation. He retains authority to pursue disciplinary action but said the steps taken so far do not warrant additional penalties at this time.
Fain, now nearly three years into his term after winning the union’s first direct presidential election, has led the UAW through record contracts with the Detroit Three automakers. His leadership will face further scrutiny as nominations open in June for the union’s International Executive Board.
