Whether talking about a company or a union, personnel changes are to be expected after a significant leadership change. New CEOs are nearly synonymous with the dreaded “restructuring” word, so it shouldn’t be too surprising when incoming international union presidents clean some house, too.
What does raise some eyebrows, however, is that new UAW President Shawn Fain has made substantial changes in the legal department just before a pivotal set of negotiations for the union. Going into this moment, Fain fired General Counsel Abigail Carter as well as two other key members of the legal team.
Fain did this on the cusp of crucial bargaining sessions with the Detroit Big Three – Stellantis, General Motors, and Ford – as both sides stare down a Sept. 14 contract expiration date. The UAW chief’s decision, as revealed in a memo obtained by the Detroit News, was “the direct consequence of information regarding ongoing federal investigations of UAW officials – information which had been concealed from me until very recently.”
Yes, that’s clear as mud. Yet Fain is alluding to something regarding federal watchdog Neil Barofsky’s monitoring of the UAW. Barofsky ostensibly aimed to keep the disgraced union on the straight and narrow after a high-profile corruption investigation, which led to over a dozen convictions and prison terms for two ex-UAW presidents.
Fain’s move raises questions about the general counsel’s ethical responsibilities and when it remains appropriate to “conceal” information from a union president. No matter his reasoning, however, this shakeup before major negotiations is bound to cause ripples.
Fain did point toward the “common” nature of “staff changes,” and he hinted at an upcoming search to “find someone who can effectively help to guide our great union.”
Yet this surely won’t boost confidence for union members who fear the Big Three negotiations yielding ”sellout” contracts, especially after Fain took great pains to declare “war against the one and only true enemy.” How far can the UAW take Fain’s agenda if they aren’t legally covering their butts, though? We’ll soon find out.
