UAW President Shawn Fain accused of seeking benefits for fiancee and her sister

The investigation of UAW President Shawn Fain by the independent monitor overseeing the union is in part over allegations that he ordered a vice president to take actions that would benefit his fiancée and her sister, among other reasons, according to a recent court filing.

The motion, filed by monitor Neil Barofsky, requests that the court confirm the monitor’s authority to receive access to records immediately and compel the UAW to produce documents that the monitor is asking for.

"Despite the monitor’s repeated requests, the union has not provided such access to union documents for these investigations, insisting that the union must engage in what has become a lengthy pre-production review and asserting that it will withhold or redact documents as it deems necessary to protect privilege and confidentiality ... by taking that position, the union has effectively stalled the monitor’s work," the motion said, which was filed in the U.S. District Court in Detroit Monday. Barofsky's latest motion was first reported by The Detroit News.

The independent monitor overseeing the union announced in June that Fain and Secretary-Treasurer Margaret Mock were under investigation following a shake-up within the leadership. The issues involving Fain and Mock followed the union’s move to reassign nine departments overseen by Mock following criticism that she engaged in misconduct by not fulfilling a number of financial requests from Fain’s office and various other leaders. Mock has denied wrongdoing.

The independent monitor is also investigating why Vice President Rich Boyer had duties stripped, including Boyer’s oversight of the Stellantis Department. Boyer said he suffered retaliation because he refused to take actions that would have benefited Fain's fiancee and her sister.

Fain is engaged to Keesha McConaghie, according to his biography on the UAW's website. McConaghie is a financial analyst at the UAW-Chrysler National Training Center.

A UAW spokesperson said in a texted comment that the UAW welcomes "the ongoing oversight of the UAW. The federal government’s work rooting out the corruption in previous administrations is what allowed our members to take back their union. ... We have cooperated and will continue to cooperate with the federal monitor and remain focused on building power for workers."

A source familiar with the investigation said the benefit in question is not a benefit specific to Fain's fiancee and her sister, but rather that National Training Center employees have not had a raise in several years and negotiations covering these employees are a routine aspect of negotiations with the Detroit Three automakers.

More on the investigation: As UAW 'is being watched with a microscope,' new investigation puts Fain in crosshairs

The monitor's motion also said that in April, Barofsky opened an investigation involving allegations that an unnamed senior union official embezzled UAW money by using a UAW corporate credit card for personal purchases.

Detroit Free Press staff writer Eric D. Lawrence contributed with prior reporting.

Contact Adrienne Roberts: [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: UAW president Fain accused of seeking benefits for fiancee, her sister