The U. S.
Department of Justice is investigating allegations that United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain misused his official authority to improperly benefit his fiancée and retaliated against a senior union official who opposed his actions, according to internal union documents reviewed by Reuters.
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The lead counsel for the court-appointed federal monitor overseeing the union notified Fain and UAW Vice President Rich Boyer last month that a grand jury probe had been opened by the federal government.
The investigation focuses on matters outlined in recent reports from Neil Barofsky, the independent monitor managing the union's internal oversight.
The federal monitor released a report last month concluding that Fain had engaged in retaliatory actions against Boyer and abused his leadership authority to benefit his fiancée, though any final disciplinary decisions were deferred for further review without explicitly mentioning the federal investigation at that time.
"We are not publishing the details of our factual findings on this issue at this time out of deference to a Grand Jury investigation DOJ has initiated into that issue," the monitor's lead counsel wrote in a June 18 email reviewed by Reuters.
The independent investigator indicated that the ongoing criminal probe would remain confidential for the time being.
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"We do not intend to publicly disclose the existence of that investigation at this time," he continued.
Fain, who is currently seeking a second four-year term in an upcoming union election later this year against a field of candidates that includes Boyer, has strongly rejected the findings of the oversight office.
