Posts tagged Rich Boyer
UAW watchdog faults Fain, portrays him as angry foul-mouthed leader who targeted underling
June 18, 2025 // United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain illegitimately retaliated against the second most-powerful leader of the union in stripping her of power after threatening to "slit" the "throats" of anyone who "messed" with his inner circle, a government watchdog said late Tuesday. The watchdog, lawyer Neil Barofsky, leveled the allegation in a quarterly report delivered to U.S. District Judge David Lawson, who gained broad control of a deal to oversee the UAW in 2020 following a years-long public corruption scandal. The scandal sent two former union presidents, Gary Jones and Dennis Williams, to federal prison along with several others convicted of breaking labor laws, stealing union funds and receiving bribes, kickbacks and illegal benefits from contractors and auto executives.
UAW Leader Gets $275K Payday While Union Dips Further Into Red
April 3, 2025 // Given the fact that former UAW president Gary Jones pleaded guilty to using union money to pay for personal expenses and was sentenced to 28 months in prison in 2021, it’s no surprise that members are keeping a close eye on executive pay. In Fain’s case, while his gross salary was $229,514, total payments from the union, including official business disbursements, reached $274,407 in 2024. The next top earner within the UAW was Secretary-Treasurer Margaret Mock,who earned a salary of $224,861, with total payments amounting to $247,169. Vice Presidents Mike Booth, Rich Boyer, and Chuck Browning all received the same $211,001 in gross salaries, while the head of the union’s Stellantis department, Kevin Gotinsky, had a total salary of $177,942. As reported by the Detroit Free Press, the UAW’s membership grew from 370,239 in 2023 to 375,161 in 2024. This came thanks in part to its successful effort to unionize the VW plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but remains down from the 383,003 members it had in 2022.
UAW ordered to turn over unredacted documents to independent monitor
December 19, 2024 // While the UAW contends that it has already handed over millions of pages of information– 185,000 documents and 2 million pages in total–the court sided with the monitor, expressing that the volume of documents provided does not necessarily equate to completeness.
UAW’s response to monitor at issue in federal court hearing
November 30, 2024 // At issue is the scope of the monitor’s ability to fully review information from the union under a consent decree issued after the long-running corruption scandal that sent former top union officials and auto executives to prison. Attorneys on Tuesday described about 570 redacted documents and text messages connected to UAW President Shawn Fain as being among the issues.
New Details Emerge in the Misconduct Investigation Into Shawn Fain and the UAW
July 22, 2024 // A recent third-party audit of the union’s culture, which was recommended by the monitor, confirmed these concerns. The audit found that 40% percent of UAW’s staff members would decline to report acts of misconduct over fear of retaliation.
Federal monitor reports pervasive culture of fear and slow reforms at UAW
July 18, 2024 // However, he highlighted that the union has not finalized certain reforms regarding funding community and political activities, has inconsistently followed policies on conference-related expenditures, and struggled with procedures to prevent hiring unqualified personnel and combat perceptions of nepotism and favoritism. These concerns are central to the monitor’s investigation into Fain’s actions, with Vice President Rich Boyer alleging that Fain sought benefits for his fiancée and her sister. Barofsky concluded that although the union has made commendable reforms, “there is still more work to do to fortify these areas.”
UAW President Faces Allegations of Demanding Benefits for Domestic Partner
July 10, 2024 // The filing states that Barofsky is investigating whether Fain’s decision in May to remove UAW Vice President Rich Boyer from his role as the union’s top negotiator with Chrysler parent Stellantis was in retaliation for Boyer’s alleged “refusal to accede to demands” to take actions that “would have benefitted [the president’s] domestic partner and her sister.” Those actions would have amounted to “financial misconduct” Boyer later claimed, according to a separate document Barofsky’s office filed Monday. The 55-year-old Fain is currently engaged, according to the UAW website.
As UAW ‘is being watched with a microscope,’ new investigation puts Fain in crosshairs
July 1, 2024 // The Free Press has made numerous requests — none granted — over the years, including following the release of the latest status report, to interview the monitor, Neil Barofsky, a former assistant U.S. attorney and current partner in the Chicago law firm Jenner & Block. The consent decree stemming from the union's corruption scandal sets in place a six-year term of oversight by the monitor. Barofsky’s appointment was OK’d by U.S. District Court Judge David Lawson in May 2021. The monitor’s charge is broad, with the consent decree giving him “the authority and duty to remove fraud, corruption, illegal behavior, dishonesty and unethical practices from the UAW and its constituent entities.” The oversight by the independent monitor means that internal divisions and disagreements in addition to specific actions are much more likely to be brought to light. Masters described the situation as a fishbowl.
Fain, UAW VP trade barbs in letters over Stellantis Department
June 17, 2024 // One specific issue of contention was the location of the 2024 UAW National Stellantis Council meeting, which, according to a union flyer, was scheduled for March 17-22, at the Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel and Casino in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Fain said that Boyer decided, despite his repeated objections, to hold the council in Puerto Rico "where we have many members but none that work for Stellantis." He said the decision has "continued to haunt us in our new organizing drives, where anti-union employers have repeatedly thrown it in our face — just as I predicted they would."
Reform candidates lead in UAW races with 73% of vote counted
December 2, 2022 // Members of the United Auto Workers union appeared on Thursday to favor replacing many of their current leaders in an election that stemmed from a federal bribery and embezzlement scandal involving former union officials. Reform-minded candidates, many part of the UAW Members United slate, are leading or close in multiple key races with about 73% of the vote in. Many challengers campaigned on rescinding concessions made to companies in previous contract talks, including cost-of-living pay raises, elimination of a two-tier wage and benefit system, and other items.