DETROIT, June 15 - Shawn Fain is pursuing a second four-year term as president of the United Auto Workers, positioning himself as the frontrunner after leading a widely supported series of job actions three years ago. His record since taking office, however, is mixed: dramatic bargaining victories are balanced by setbacks in organizing and questions about governance that have unsettled some union members.
Delegates at this week’s UAW convention in Detroit are expected to nominate candidates, clearing the way for a fall election that will decide who leads the 400,000-member union. The outcome will be closely watched by Detroit’s big three automakers - General Motors, Ford Motor and Stellantis - whose U.S. factory rosters are heavily populated by UAW-represented workers.
Fain, a 57-year-old former Chrysler electrician, built his national profile during the 2023 contract fights. He led a coordinated work stoppage across the three major automakers that lasted six weeks and produced historic gains for union members, including raises of roughly 25% for workers covered by the new contracts. The simultaneous strikes against all three companies marked a first in UAW history and helped solidify broad member backing for Fain.
"We’ve done things in three years that haven’t been done in 30," Fain said in an interview, adding, "We’re just getting started." Those comments underscore his emphasis on assertive bargaining and direct communication with rank-and-file members - tactics that many workers credited for the contract outcomes.
At the same time, the union’s ambitious organizing effort has not matched the 2023 bargaining success. A $40 million campaign to unionize non-union auto plants across the country netted a major victory at Volkswagen but failed to maintain momentum in other attempts, including a lost union vote at a Mercedes-Benz factory in Alabama. Observers cited the stalled drive as a notable blemish on Fain’s record.
Opponents of Fain have sought to make his record a central issue in the leadership contest, pointing to governance problems and internal turmoil. A federal monitor, appointed in 2021 to oversee the union’s management after a prior corruption scandal, has accused Fain of retaliating against other UAW leaders and criticized a lack of transparency. Those findings have led to departures and reassignments among top staff.
Among specific allegations, the monitor reported that Fain reassigned some duties of the union’s secretary-treasurer, Margaret Mock, in what the monitor described as retaliatory actions. The union’s chief of staff, Chris Brooks, later left the organization after the monitor identified him as part of the asserted retaliation campaign.
The UAW executive board has also been reported to experience discord over the management of the union’s investment portfolio. The monitor highlighted concerns in one of its recent reports, prompting scrutiny of investment-management practices. The union says it has been in compliance with its investment policy for almost a year and has agreed to implement the monitor’s recommendations to strengthen governance and investment processes.
Fain pushed back on the criticisms while defending the union’s record, saying, "Everything we’ve done, we’ve done by putting this membership first." He also noted that the UAW has "adopted almost every reform suggested by the monitor."
Several challengers have confirmed their bids for the presidency. Brian Keller, Will Lehman, Greg Mooney and Tricia Geiger have all said they plan to run. Their platforms emphasize themes such as clearer oversight of new technologies like artificial intelligence and automation, substantial wage increases, and heightened transparency within union operations.
Labor experts interviewed on the situation suggested that the monitor’s criticisms and the organizing setbacks may not override the memory of the 2023 contract gains when members cast their ballots. One academic described the stalled organizing drive as a significant failure, but said it is unlikely to determine the election’s outcome, given the strong association many members make between Fain and the bargaining wins.
Union members express a range of views toward Fain’s stewardship. Eric Hall, an electrician at Ford’s Kansas City assembly plant and a nearly 40-year UAW member, praised Fain’s communication and willingness to strike. "Shawn Fain’s communication efforts, the willingness to strike, the gains we got, were very welcome," Hall said. He added that he hopes the next president will focus on improving retiree healthcare benefits, creating more predictable schedules, and securing model allocations to protect factory jobs.
Not all members are supportive. Volkswagen worker Douglas Snyder, who opposed the first contract at his Tennessee plant, labeled the 2023 agreement "crappy," saying it did not meet his expectations for better wages and healthcare. Snyder criticized what he saw as insufficient communication from Fain during negotiations and wanted stronger pressure on employers. He said he is looking for a president "that’s actually going to be engaged with their base," and indicated he is not planning to vote for Fain.
As the convention proceeds and nominations are formalized, the union’s internal debate over direction and governance will likely remain central to the campaign. The contrast between dramatic bargaining outcomes and questions about organizing strategy and management practices sets the stage for a contested fall election in which members will weigh recent gains against longer-term objectives.
Contextual note - The race will be watched by the auto sector and broader manufacturing markets because leadership decisions at the UAW can influence labor relations, production planning and long-term cost structures for major automakers that employ union labor.