United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain Seeks Re-election Amid Federal Monitor Criticism

United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain announced he will seek a second four-year term ahead of the union’s fall 2026 election. Fain, 57, previously worked as an electrician at Chrysler and became the first UAW president chosen through direct member vote after a 2021 referendum replaced the delegate system.

Fain led a six-week strike in 2023 against Ford Motor, General Motors and Stellantis that produced 25 per cent wage increases and marked the first time the union struck all three Detroit automakers at once.

U.S. factory workforces are largely unionized. The union spent $40 million US on a campaign to organize non-union plants.

The effort secured a contract at a Volkswagen facility in Tennessee but failed at a Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama. ” A federal monitor appointed in 2021 after a corruption scandal has accused Fain of retaliating against other leaders and lacking transparency. In 2025 the monitor reported that Fain reassigned duties of UAW secretary-treasurer Margaret Mock.

Chief of staff Chris Brooks later left the union after the monitor linked him to the retaliation. ” The union stated it has complied with its investment policy for nearly a year and will implement the monitor’s recommendations on governance. Four candidates confirmed to Reuters they will challenge Fain: Brian Keller, Will Lehman, Greg Mooney and Tricia Geiger.

Their platforms include calls for responsible use of AI and automation, larger wage increases and greater transparency. Eric Hall, a UAW member for nearly 40 years who works as an electrician at Ford’s Kansas City assembly plant, credited Fain’s bargaining approach. “Shawn Fain’s communication efforts, the willingness to strike, the gains we got, were very welcome,” Hall said.