In a scathing report from a court-appointed union watchdog, UAW President Shawn Fain is depicted as a foul-mouthed, hot-headed leader.
The report, published by attorney Neil Barofsky of Jenner & Block LLP, a law firm headquartered in Chicago, is 93 pages of details, anecdotes and investigative findings that conclude Fain violated UAW ethics by stripping the duties of Margaret Mock, the union’s secretary-treasurer, in a “cloaked” campaign to level charges against her.
Barofsky was tasked with rooting out corruption in the union by a federal judge after a scandal rocked the union in 2017. In his report, the monitor largely vindicates Mock, who has consistently said Fain sought to retract her duties after she refused to approve inappropriate spending and contracts with some of Fain’s closest aides.
The report stops short of recommending legal punishment until Barofsky concludes other related investigations. It does, however, offer lurid details about the behind-the-scenes operations at a labor union under intense scrutiny.
Representatives of the UAW have not responded to requests for comment.
Here is our full news story on the substance of the monitor’s report. For highlights, read on.
‘Slit their f—— throats’
Several times throughout the investigation, Barofsky refers to a moment where Fain told hundreds of UAW members at a large staff meeting that he would “slit” or “cut” their throats if they messed with his closest aides.
According to Mock’s recollection to Barofsky, Fain asked about a half-dozen members of his tight leadership circle to stand before saying he would cut the throats of anyone who messed with them.
Mock and other members at the meeting told the monitor that Fain seemed serious.
Fain, however, defended the comment as a poorly timed (and poorly received) joke.
“Although Fain later said the statement was intended to be a lighthearted remark and characterized it as an expression of loyalty to his staff, attendees interviewed by the Monitor did not interpret it as humorous or rhetorical,” Barofsky wrote.
The monitor believes Fain’s actions against Mock constitute an actualization of his threats.
“As the investigation revealed, 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——- throats” of anyone who interfered with his staff,” Barofsky wrote.
Better than coming from me
To relocate Mock’s duties, the monitor alleges, Fain led a complicated and “cloaked” campaign using other UAW leaders in a convoluted attempt to shield himself from allegations of racism.
According to the report, Fain asked two Black women to spearhead a motion at a meeting to oust Mock, who is also a Black woman.
Fain justified his decision to ask Regional Directors LaShawn English and Laura Dickerson to initiate the motion — something he could have done himself. Fain told the he did it to avoid appearing racist.
According to the monitor, Fain said he “wanted to reach out to Laura [Dickerson] and LaShawn [English] as they’re African American because I know accusations happen all the time if you’re a white male.”
Barofsky said Fain told him he asked Dickerson to make the motion (and for English to second it) because he “thought it would be better coming from her than me, a white guy.”
Fain to Mock: Sign the check
The monitor’s report quotes an anonymous witness, who recalls a conversation in which Fain told Mock her duty was not to guard union funds zealously, but rather to rubber stamp everything that came across her desk.
Barofsky spoke to a witness, who said they heard Fain grow frustrated with Mock, who insisted she had a fiduciary duty to union members.
He told her, the monitor writes, “Your only responsibility is to sign the f—— check.”
Fain: ‘This is my motherf——g membership.’
In another anecdote — which Fain admitted to be true — the UAW president confronted a print shop employee and launched into a “tirade” upon hearing that Mock wanted a photo of herself to appear alongside Fain on a pamphlet outlining details of an ongoing bargaining campaign.
“Fain reportedly confronted the Head of the Print Shop in a tirade, demanding, among other things, that she tell him, ‘Who told you to put [Mock’s] motherf—— photo on there? This is my motherf—— membership.'” Barofsky wrote, noting that the moment left some staff in tears.
Shortly after the incident at the print shop, Fain transferred the Print Shop Department from Mock’s oversight to his own.
Later, Fain admitted he “got sh—y,” in that moment.
Mock kept receipts … of her receipts
Throughout the monitor’s investigation, several high-ranking union officials accused Mock of conducting her job with bias, approving company-funded expenses unfairly across the board.
The monitor found that Mock applied the letter of the union law fairly, even for herself. And she had the receipts to back it up.
“Secretary-Treasurer Mock also stated that she applied the same stringent rules to herself, not submitting expenses unless she had the necessary receipts,” the report reads. “The Monitor verified, based on the documents produced by the Union … Mock did not submit any exception requests on her own behalf.”
Liam Rappleye covers Stellantis and the UAW for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him: LRappleye@freepress.com.
(This story was updated to add a photo gallery.)
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Shawn Fain depicted as foul-mouthed, hot-headed leader: What else jumped out in UAW report
Reporting by Liam Rappleye, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
