DETROIT — The U.S. Justice Department launched a grand jury investigation into allegations that United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain improperly sought benefits for his fiancée and her sister and retaliated against a union official who refused to approve them. The probe centers on claims that Fain pressured another high-ranking UAW official to secure a financial bonus for his fiancée and support a worker’s compensation claim for her sister.

A federal grand jury subpoenaed the UAW’s court-appointed monitor regarding the allegations, which became public last month in the monitor’s report. Neil Barofsky, an attorney with Jenner & Block, wrote in that report that it had “substantiated the claim that President Fain acted improperly to obtain financial benefits for his fiancée, and that Vice President Boyer’s failure to approve the bonus may have contributed to Fain’s retaliatory action against him.”

Fain called the allegations “false” in a statement and said he has hired a law firm to challenge what he described as “trumped-up claims against me.” He accused UAW Vice President Rich Boyer of attempting to influence the union’s upcoming fall election, in which the two are set to face off as candidates. Fain stated that his relationship with Boyer deteriorated early in his presidency after he declined Boyer’s request to hire family members to union positions.

Fain also said he removed Boyer’s duties as chief negotiator with Stellantis NV not as retaliation but because the automaker had failed to fulfill hiring promises and a pledge to return work to an Illinois plant. In May 2024, Fain demoted Boyer and also removed responsibilities from UAW Treasurer-Secretary Margaret Mock. Barofsky’s office previously reported that Fain should not have punished Mock and characterized both actions as part of a pattern of retaliation.

Steven Fagell, an attorney with Covington & Burling, stated in an email that the UAW broadly is not the subject of the grand jury investigation. A Jenner & Block attorney informed the union in a June 18 email that certain findings were withheld “out of deference to a Grand Jury investigation DOJ has initiated into that issue.”

Fain, who won a close runoff in 2023 marking the first direct presidential vote by UAW members in the union’s 90-year history, has served as president since March 2023. The UAW represents more than 400,000 workers. The union agreed in 2020 to the appointment of an independent monitor following a corruption probe that uncovered embezzlement in its upper ranks, resulting in prison sentences for two former presidents and other leaders.

“I’ve remained silent on the political infighting in our union over the past two years because it only distracts from our mission as a union and as a movement,” Fain said. “But the stakes are too high, and the membership deserves to know the truth.”

Why It Matters

The investigation marks a significant development for a union still under federal oversight after a major corruption scandal. The UAW’s governance remains under court-appointed supervision, and any new findings of misconduct could affect internal leadership dynamics, especially with a contentious election approaching between Fain and his rival, Vice President Rich Boyer.

The case also tests whether reforms implemented after the 2020 corruption probe have effectively curbed misuse of union authority. With more than 400,000 members, the UAW’s stability and integrity directly impact labor relations across the U.S. auto industry.