(WWJ) — UAW President Shawn Fain is under investigation by court-appointed monitor Neil Barofsky, a watchdog tasked with eliminating corruption within the union.
According to a Monday federal court filing, Barofsky is looking into Fain's decision to reassign secretary treasurer Margaret Mock to see whether the move was made in retaliation for her not authorizing certain spending Fain wanted.
Barofsky in the court filing accused union leaders of "obstructing and interfering with attempts to access information," according to a report from The Detroit News.
Barofsky claims he has requested about 116,000 documents from the UAW that relate to the investigation, but only about 2,600 have been turned over, most of which he received in the last week, according to the 36-page filing.
The watchdog is also investigating a separate set of allegations against a union VP, but UAW leaders are being uncooperative.
Barofsky says the lack of cooperation is in violation of a consent decree that was signed in 2020 to prevent a federal takeover by the U.S. Justice Department.
With only a "small fraction" of requested documents having been turned over in the three months since he began investigating, Barofsky says "the union's delay of relevant documents is obstructing and interfering" with his access to information needed for his investigative work.
While the investigation does not appear to involve criminal allegations, Barofsky "has the ability to bring charges seeking to discipline, remove, suspend, expel and fine UAW officers and members," according to The Detroit News report.
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