FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Sen. Bill Cassidy, chairman of the leading Senate committee on labor matters, sent a letter to United Auto Workers (UAW) president Shawn Fain on Friday, probing him about alleged “workplace retaliation” in the union.

Cassidy, R-La., who chairs the Senate committee on health, labor, education, and pensions (HELP), asked the labor leader to clarify reports of alleged retaliation against fellow UAW leaders for workplace disagreements.

“Several news reports and two reports by the United Auto Workers’ (UAW) court-appointed Monitor … have detailed concerning instances of workplace retaliation under your leadership,” the letter reads.

Cassidy added that “these actions create a serious distraction from UAW’s purpose to improve and protect UAW members’ wages, benefits, work hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.”

Fain has served as the UAW’s president since 2023. The Detroit, Michigan-based union was founded in 1935.

Cassidy writes in the letter that he is “concerned that the cost of litigating these matters is a disservice to the American workers who pay dues to the UAW.”

In particular, Cassidy probes Fain on two allegations of workforce retaliation. In one instance, Fain is said to have removed “several departments” from the purview of UAW Secretary-Treasurer Margaret Mock as retaliation for “instituting strict policies governing expenses.”

In the other case, Cassidy points to a report from The Detroit News, which cites an anonymous source who said Fain removed the union’s Stellantis department from the oversight of Vice President Rich Boyer due to “a disagreement over staffing changes.”

Stellantis is the parent company which produces and sells Jeep, Chrysler, Fiat, Ram, and other vehicles.

Cassidy mentions that “Boyer states the dismissal was motivated by his refusal to make changes that would benefit your [fiancée] and your [fiancée’s] sister.”

Cassidy requests for clarification on whether the UAW has a workforce retaliation policy, as well as whether Faine’s fiancée or her sister would stand to benefit from Boyer’s removal. Cassidy also inquires if the UAW has a written policy on workplace nepotism.

The chairman asks several more questions of Fain on how these alleged actions affect workers, including whether Fain will commit to not raising dues on union members “to pay for internal UAW proceedings or any legal proceedings on these or other allegations of retaliation.”

The UAW did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fain and the union on the letter, the allegations it details, and whether they plan to respond to Cassidy.

Speaking to the union and to the world today @UAW President Shawn Fain said:

"Donald Trump is a scab. Donald Trump is a billionaire, and that is who he represents." pic.twitter.com/aqqOUa8D9T

— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) January 24, 2024

Fain has served as the UAW’s president since 2023. The union, founded in 1935, is based in Detroit, Michigan.

Fain campaigned in support of then-Vice President Kamala Harris’ Democratic presidential bid in 2024, and was a harsh opponent of now-President Donald Trump, whom he called a “scab” who “doesn’t give a damn about working class people.”

Since then, Fain has been critical of certain Trump policies, such as restricting federal workers’ unionization rights, but has also defended the president on policies such as tariffs.

The post EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Cassidy Probes UAW Leader on ‘Workforce Retaliation’ appeared first on The Daily Signal.