Let’s get real. UAW President Shawn Fain has his sights set on staying in office and continuing to threaten his May Day 2028 general strike plans. However, Fain cannot wave off the attention that challenger Rich Boyer is receiving as mere campaign noise.
As we recently discussed, Boyer is the current VP who Fain previously removed from Stellantis oversight duties, allegedly because Fain was steamed over how Boyer “refus[ed] to divert benefits to his fiancée” and her sister. The union’s federal monitor, Neil Barofsky, later ordered Boyer to be reinstated, and now Boyer has come for Fain’s position. It’s no wonder that Detroit news publications are describing him as the most “prominent” rival.
The Report’s Timing Isn’t Great For Fain
This is where things get juicier for this union drama. Not that they weren’t already that way with Barofsky’s reports detailing Fain’s conduct toward his own staffers. Yet Barofsky has dropped his sixteenth report, which makes swift work of dismantling Fain’s reasons for removing Boyer. The monitor affirms that Fain “acted improperly and abused the authority of his office in connection with matters involving his fiancée and her sister,” but there’s much more within Barofsky’s findings, as discussed below.
The report’s timing puts a federal investigator’s findings in the public record while Boyer’s campaign is underway, and unlike Boyer’s own public statements, this isn’t something Fain can dismiss as one man’s grievance. Barofsky previously devoted a different report to Fain’s failed ousting of Secretary Treasurer Margaret Mock, and this new report backs up Boyer’s public assertions over how Fain’s alleged vendetta against him went down.
The Federal Monitor Dismantled Fain’s Reasons For Firing Boyer
As Barofsky recounts in his report, Fain removed Boyer via a letter containing “seven separate allegations of dereliction of duty and misconduct.” Among those accusations are Fain alleging that Boyer failed Stellantis workers by having no plan on the Kokomo plants and staying silent on Belvidere plant delays. As Barofsky painstakingly details in his report, the evidence does not support these accusations, and Fain’s own statements to federal investigators contradicted the claims in his letter.
Regarding Belvidere, Fain acknowledged to Barofsky that he and Boyer regularly communicated throughout the plant’s delays, which negated his claim of Boyer’s inaction. And concerning Kokomo, Fain admitted that Stellantis had sent him written confirmation of how Boyer had secured an agreement with the company, contrary to Fain’s assertions.
Barofsky’s report further revealed a major reason why Fain dismissed Boyer, and it’s a subject that didn’t appear in his seven-point letter. Boyer had settled around 200 grievances at the Warren Stamping plant, but Fain wanted to leave them open as “leverage.” The report details, as Boyer has previously mentioned, that Fain issued an “ultimatum” to Boyer for firing multiple staffers, and when Boyer refused, Fain pushed him out.
Barofsky concluded that Fain’s stated reasons for ousting Boyer were false and/or exaggerated, that Fain made these seven allegations in bad faith to conceal his real motives, including those settled grievances and Boyer’s refusal to obey the ultimatum.
Now, Onto The Election
The lengthy report also explores Fain’s apparent habit of deleting text messages that could later be used as evidence and how, as Boyer has mentioned, Fain won’t talk to him after the firing and reinstatement. Boyer’s candidacy highlights issues that might otherwise go unnoticed, and this report adds a federal finding to back some of them up.
Those subjects include Boyer’s desire to bring accountability to UAW finances and lower members’ dues rather than raise the strike fund up to $1.3 billion from its existing $850 million. Indeed, Boyer believes that “they’re taking that money out of the strike fund to run the day-to-day operations,” which is a serious allegation that we likely haven’t heard the end of. Heck, we might even see that accusation surface in a future federal monitor report. Yet for now, it’s onto UAW officer elections, which will begin through mail ballot in August and wrap up in early October. Stay tuned! There’s sure to be more mudslinging to come.
FAQs
What did the UAW federal monitor’s sixteenth report find?
The UAW’s federal monitor, Neil Barofsky, found that none of the seven reasons Shawn Fain cited for removing Vice President Rich Boyer’s oversight of the Stellantis Department were substantiated. The report concluded Fain’s stated reasons were false or exaggerated and that the removal was retaliatory.
Why did Shawn Fain remove Rich Boyer from the Stellantis Department?
Fain’s May 2024 letter cited seven allegations, including hidden concessions on absenteeism and failure to develop a plan for the Kokomo battery plants. The monitor’s investigation found these reasons did not hold up and that Fain’s actual motives, which he did not disclose in the letter, were Boyer’s settlement of health and safety grievances at the Warren Stamping plant and Boyer’s refusal to fire members of his own staff.
Is Rich Boyer running against Shawn Fain for UAW president?
Yes. Boyer, the UAW VP that Fain previously removed from Stellantis oversight, is challenging Fain for the union presidency in this fall’s election.
When are UAW officer elections held in 2026?
Mail ballots for UAW officer elections go out in late August 2026, with tabulation beginning in early October.
