No doubt about it, the current UAW election season is entertainment for labor relations watchers. It’s also potentially–to borrow one of this union’s favorite claims–historic, given that a grand jury subpoenaed federal monitor Neil Barofsky over his reports full of allegations against President Shawn Fain. We’ve discussed Fain’s threat to physically fight Barofsky, whose latest report details Fain’s retaliatory firing of VP Rich Boyer, and he is now challenging Fain for his job. Yet the more puzzling story is a budget that the union still hasn’t implemented in five years.
Let’s take a little trip back in time to Barofsky’s first months on monitor duty, when he was tasked with directing the union away from its legacy of corruption. He made a seemingly commonsensical request, which went unheeded, and Fain’s rivals have brought it back for election season.
No budget? That’s right
On Nov. 11, 2021, Barofsky declared in his initial report that the UAW “lacks basic governance tools, like a regular and consistent process for budgeting expenses.” He emphasized that budgets are vital for accountability and transparency purposes, and Barofsky wrote of his “hopes” for the union to take seriously his “recommendation to implement a comprehensive formal budgeting process” in order “to fully turn the page on the past,” which was fraught with embezzlement, bizarre “villa” rentals, and other crimes leading to prison time for multiple ex-UAW presidents.
This is a union that, according to its 2025 LM-2 report, claims assets of $1.2 billion and annual dues collection of over $226 million from over 392,000 members. A budget is not an unreasonable request, but nearly five years after Barofsky’s recommendation, it still hasn’t happened. That’s the case not only for the UAW’s international headquarters but also the union’s regional bodies. Now, this is being called out by Detroit publications and presidential candidates as the officer election season heats up.
Challengers are pouncing upon this issue
Shortly after announcing his candidacy, Rich Boyer declared, “Our budget isn’t right.” He further alleged, “My opinion is they’re taking that money out of the strike fund to run the day-to-day operations.” Likewise, Tricia Geiger pointed out, “Our members run their households on a budget. They deserve leadership committed to do the same.” And during last week’s candidate forum, Brian Keller criticized officers for “voting against” Secretary-Treasurer Margaret Mock’s attempts to pass a budget. In response, Fain accused Mock of “paying vendors millions of dollars to come in and fix the problem because she wasn’t competent enough, and nobody in that department was.”
Fain is referring to Deloitte consulting payments that Barofsky referenced in 2022 while doubling down on his request for the UAW to implement a budget by 2023. These payments suggested efforts to move toward the budgetary goal, but Fain seems content to pass the buck to Mock. By the way, she recently participated in her own election debate while agreeing, “You’re right, I think it’s a shame we don’t have a budget.” She then declared that the UAW’s executive board has finally approved “a framework for a budget” after her office previously proposed a comprehensive version.
As a reminder, Fain previously ousted both Boyer and Mock, only for Barofsky to order their reinstatement. And Fain isn’t even trying to hide his ire about this situation, especially after another Barofsky report alleged that Fain pushed Mock out because she refused to approve his spending requests. In other words, Fain is blaming the person he ousted for the very problem that her removal probably made worse.
Where the issue goes from here
Several points of suspense persist. First, a UAW attorney previously emphasized that the union “broadly is not the subject of a grand jury investigation,” which suggests that the investigation target is Fain himself. So a potential indictment is lingering in the background regardless of whether Fain manages to fend off his several challengers for president, and officer election results will be tabulated in early October.
In the meantime, employers will want to watch this for more than humorous value. Only a few months ago, it seemed impossible that Fain could be booted from office, but grand jury talk and Rich Boyer’s candidacy have raised the prospect of Fain losing his job to above 0%. And if he’s pushed off the union officer stage, then employers will want to know whether his 2028 general strike plans would go with him.
That is a fine question for another day.
FAQ
Who is running against Shawn Fain for UAW president?
Five candidates other than Shawn Fain were nominated at the UAW’s 2026 Constitutional Convention. They include Rich Boyer, Tricia Geiger, Brian Keller, Will Lehman, and Greg Mooney. Boyer is a long-time officer and current VP, Geiger is a servicing representative from Flint, and Keller is a Stellantis worker. Meanwhile, Lehman is a Mack Trucks assembly worker and socialist who previously ran for UAW president against Fain. Whereas Mooney has taken an anti-AI stance and is the recording secretary of the UAW local at General Dynamics Land Systems’s Ohio plant.
Why is the 2026 UAW election significant beyond the budget issue?
This is the second time UAW members have directly elected international officers. The first direct officer election took place in 2022, following a federal consent decree tied to the union’s earlier corruption scandal. Before the decree, UAW presidents were chosen via convention delegates.
What happened to Rich Boyer and Margaret Mock before this election?
Fain previously removed both from their roles before Barofsky ordered their reinstatement. Now, Boyer is one of Fain’s election rivals for the presidency, and Mock is seeking reelection as secretary-treasurer. (The games have already begun!)
