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Militant United Auto Workers (UAW) president Shawn Fain is under investigation by a federal monitor appointed by the court to root out union corruption.

However, concerns are growing that the investigation is targeting Fain because of the UAW’s stance against Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza and its support for divestment and a just transition for workers in the war industry.

Fain became the first UAW president elected by a rank-and-file direct vote, in elections last year that also saw a reform leadership elected.

At first, it appeared the investigation was about disputes within the new leadership, which had been reported in the media.

But monitor Neil Barofsky’s investigation is political and has nothing do with union democracy or allegations of corruption.

Ryan Grim revealed on on July 11 that the investigation into Fain, who led a successful stand-up strike against the “Big Three” carmakers last year, “has less to do with concerns over union self-dealing and more to do with the politics of Israel-Palestine”.

According to Grim, Barofsky was appointed in 2021 as a result of a Department of Justice-led “consent decree” between it and the UAW. The decree was put in place in lieu of prosecution of the union for rampant corruption. The corruption scandal sent car industry executives and two former UAW presidents to prison.

The decree forced the UAW to allow a rank-and-file election for president for the first time in the union’s history.

UAW calls for ceasefire

In December, the UAW became the largest union in the US to join the in Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinians in Gaza.

The call was initiated by The United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America union and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 3000. It has been endorsed by more than 200 unions and organisations and more than 6500 individuals across the labour movement.

The UAW’s International Executive Board (IEB) also in December that it would form a Divestment and Just Transition working group to “study the history of Israel and Palestine, the union’s economic ties to the conflict, and to explore how to achieve a just transition for US workers from war to peace.”

The decision to call for a ceasefire was strongly criticised by defenders of Israel’s war.

Backlash

According to Grim’s report, based on a source “familiar with the conversation”, the night before Fain appeared at a media conference with members of Congress to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, Barofsky called him “and urged him to rethink the union position”.

“Barofsky said that it had pained him to see the UAW’s wheel logo and anti-war protests where UAW members were present, and he told Fain there had been repeated instances of antisemitism at those protests. Barofsky told Fain he was not calling as the federal monitor … but merely in his personal capacity.”

According to the same source, Fain responded, saying “the ceasefire resolution was in no way antisemitic or even pro-Palestinian, but simply an expression of the union’s desire for peace” and “the union intended to stand by its call for a ceasefire”.

Barofsky confirmed the conversation had taken place in an email to the UAW’s executive board, wrote Grim.

Barofsky’s actions have raised serious concerns of inappropriate behaviour and overreach.

As reported by the , according to a February 19 email sent to Barofsky by UAW lawyer Benjamin Dictor, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) wrote to Barofsky on February 11 and “expressed concerns over a statement passed by [UAW] Local 7902's joint council in support of a ceasefire”.

UAW Local 7902 represents more than 4000 academic workers at the New School and New York University (NYU) and has been active in support of the pro-Palestine student encampments. The UAW also represents many faculty members and instructors in Californian universities, who have also supported pro-Palestinian campus protests.

The ADL is a high-profile New York-based pro-Israel organisation that says criticism of Israel’s war is antisemitic.

Barofsky passed on the ADL’s letter and a response from Local 7902’s president to the UAW's executive board, writing that “although this issue is outside of the Monitor’s jurisdiction, we thought it was important to forward the message to the IEB given the serious concerns raised here.”

He then added, confirming his earlier conversation with Fain, “for what it’s worth, as I previously shared with Shawn, similar concerns were raised directly to me shortly after the IEB issued its own ceasefire statement.”

Grim wrote that, according to a source, when UAW officials confronted Barofsky about his “inappropriate lobbying on an issue that is not within his remit” at a subsequent union board meeting, they were stunned when “Barofsky defended his position, arguing that the ADL was an unimpeachable authority on the question”.

According to Grim, “Fain and Barofsky’s relationship had been strong before the Gaza war, as both had the same interest, to reform and root out corruption at the UAW."

Dictor sent Barofsky a “blistering” letter on February 23, after the board meeting, wrote Grim, expressing the union’s dismay “at his breach of ethics”.

“Your call to President Fain on an issue so blatantly outside of the Monitor’s jurisdiction was inappropriate as your Office holds disproportionate power over the UAW, and even a ‘strictly personal’ sharing of opinion implicitly implicates such power dynamic.”

Escalation

However, despite the union’s protests, Barofsky appears to be digging in and escalating his attacks.

“[J]ust six days after the UAW sent its letter to Barofsky complaining about his improper lobbying, Barofsky sent the UAW a sweeping demand for documents, saying he was opening an investigation into Fain over a dispute Fain had with the secretary treasurer,” wrote Grim.

According to the court filing, Barofsky is demanding “any and all emails, text messages, and instant messages” sent between Fain, his top deputies and his lawyers, between February 12 and 23.

“That covers pretty much the exact time the UAW and Barofsky were jockeying over the ADL’s complaint about their call for a ceasefire,” wrote Grim.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Barofsky is also “probing new allegations against President Shawn Fain, including that he made demands to benefit his domestic partner and her sister,” wrote Grim.

Details of that investigation are still unknown and the allegation appears to have nothing to do with the union’s statement on Gaza.

However, the Gaza issue is clearly being used by Barofsky and his pro-Israel allies, including in Congress, to attack Fain and the UAW.

The position of Monitor should be eliminated. How changes are made within unions, including dealing with issues of corruption and rank-and-file control, must be decided by union members.

Direct government intervention in and takeovers of unions, even if it initially weakens the ruling union bureaucracy, can lead to a situation where a political issue like the Gaza war can be used to undermine rank and file democracy and control.