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.
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What good reason does a union have to pick a side on an issue that Americans are divided about, when that issue is entirely irrelevant to the union’s core purpose?
You could have read the article…
On December 1, the UAW became the largest union in the U.S. to officially call for a ceasefire, explaining, as one union leader put it in a statement at the time, “From opposing fascism in WWII to mobilizing against apartheid South Africa and the CONTRA war, the UAW has consistently stood for justice across the globe.” The UAW’s International Executive Board, or IEB, also voted to form a Divestment and Just Transition working group to “study the history of Israel and Palestine, the union’s economic ties to the conflict, and to explore how to achieve a just transition for US workers from war to peace.” Other major unions followed the UAW’s lead.
I understand that that’s what the union leaders think. I’m asking why they’re saying so in their official capacity on behalf of union workers who often aren’t actually inclined to think so. Apparently the resolution is more popular with the college teaching assistants in the union than it is with actual auto workers, with whom even the union’s endorsement of Biden is controversial. IMO while the country as a whole has to pick a single policy regarding Israel regardless of how divisive the issue is, the union shouldn’t since it doesn’t actually have to.
Because, as they said, this is something they have done many, many times in the past.
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.
Because unions fight for the people and that includes people of the world.
Who is your neighbor btw?
Yall wanna disarm israel so bad.
Not really. We just want Israel to stop genociding Palestinians who, btw, have lived on that piece of land for 2000 years (since the Romans kicked out Jewish people at the beginning of the Diaspora).
I also love the implication that disarming a country is beyond the pale when the US does this through sanctions to the Palestinians and other countries.
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Yes. And disarming war criminals murdering children is bad because…?
I mean why give them missiles if they’re just using them to kill children?
I guess they have as much to do with it as “industry leaders”.
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