The federally appointed monitor tasked with overseeing the United Auto Workers, Neil Barofsky, is ratcheting up his conflict with UAW President Shawn Fain, announcing another investigation into the union leader who rose to national prominence amid the successful “Stand Up Strike” against the Big Three automakers.
Yet newly unveiled documents suggest Barofsky’s pursuit of Fain has less to do with concerns over union self-dealing and more to do with the politics of Israel-Palestine.
Barofsky was appointed in 2021 as the result of the Department of Justice-led consent decree put in place in lieu of prosecution of the union itself for rampant corruption, following prison sentences for two consecutive UAW presidents.
Yet it’s what the UAW did amid Israel’s war on Gaza that drew the attention of its federal monitor, according to records obtained by Drop Site and confirmed by recent court filings.
A much better question is why does the government (by way of its appointed monitor) think they have a say on the matter? IANAL, but this seems like a pretty clear violation of the first amendment right to free speech. This is especially true as a result of Citizens United, as bad as the ruling was.