Industry trade publications Automotive News and CBT News are each reporting that court-appointed Monitor Neil Barofsky–charged with investigating the UAW in the wake of its corruptions scandals–has found a culture of fear and retribution is still pervasive within the union and that the UAW has not made good on its promises of reform.
The finding comes in the Monitor’s 10th status report following his 2020 appointment. Barofsky was charged with monitoring the union following the convictions of two former UAW presidents. The status update is reported to say as many as 100 UAW staffers had witnessed unethical behavior in the past year alone.
Almost one-third of the staffers who witnessed such behavior said they did not report it, many fearing retribution.
The Monitor’s report also revealed that UAW leadership under President Shawn Fain did not respond promptly to its request for documents related to ongoing investigations into potential wrongdoing.
“When the monitorship began, the union had just concluded a period of its history characterized by a culture of fear and reprisal, in which UAW leaders actively undermined compliance controls to prevent financial malfeasance,” Barofsky wrote.