Fain wins second term as UAW president in unofficial count

Shawn Fain won a second four-year term as president of the United Auto Workers in the union’s International Executive Board election, according to partial, unofficial results described by Truthout. The count began October 6 in Rosemont, Illinois, and every result posted on United UAW’s live count page is labeled unofficial.

With eight of the union’s nine regions counted, Fain had more than two-thirds of the vote against five opponents, Truthout reported. Rich Boyer, the union’s incumbent vice president, was second with 14 percent. Brian Keller had 7 percent of the presidential vote. The article does not give shares for the other challengers.

Fain’s slate-mate Brandon Campbell, running for secretary-treasurer, also received about two-thirds of the vote, according to Truthout. His opponents included the incumbent secretary-treasurer, Margaret Mock. Three slate candidates for vice president were on track for between 19 and 25 percent each in a field of 11. Candidates needed 16.7 percent to win those seats.

The slate had won every contested regional director race counted so far, Truthout reported. If it sweeps the remaining races, it will hold every seat on the International Executive Board except one regional director. Boyer, Mock and Mike Booth ran together as the Integrity Slate. Truthout reported that Boyer won only two of the union’s dozens of large locals: Local 140, which represents Warren Truck, and Local 1700, which represents Sterling Heights Assembly.

Turnout was low. A little over 10 percent of the union’s roughly 400,000 active members and 600,000 retirees returned mail ballots, a share similar to 2022, according to Truthout. Turnout in higher education and legal aid locals fell by more than half from 2022, with fewer than 2,000 ballots counted from those units. At University of California Local 4811, Fain won 75 percent of the vote, but only about 2,500 of the local’s 60,000 members voted, the article said.

The election took place under the oversight of a government-appointed monitor, Neil Barofsky. Truthout reported that the monitor’s original mandate was to oversee the union’s cleanup after a corruption scandal that sent 13 union officials to prison. Barofsky sharply opposed Fain after the Executive Board passed a late-2023 resolution calling for a Gaza ceasefire, which he said could be seen as antisemitic, the article said.

Truthout reported that Barofsky’s reports also criticized Fain, including an accusation that Fain retaliated against Boyer and Mock after stripping them of responsibilities. The article does not include a response from Barofsky or from the Integrity Slate. Barofsky’s mandate is set to end in early 2027, but the consent decree under which he serves allows it to be extended, according to the article.

The results are unofficial, and the tallies reported so far are partial counts released before every region had finished. The union’s live count page lists results by region.

Each region on the count page is marked by the date its count started. Regions 1A, 4, 9 and 9A started October 6. Regions 1 and 2B started October 7, Region 1D started October 8, and Regions 6 and 8 started October 9.

Truthout reported that Fain won a second four-year term with “an overwhelming lead in member balloting.”