A UAW Faction is Seeking To Oust President Shawn Fain originally appeared on Autoblog.
UAW President Shawn Fain is facing a challenge within his union
According to a new Bloomberg report, a fringe group of members of the United Auto Workers (UAW), the largest automotive labor union, is seeking to remove its president, Shawn Fain, just two years after the union secured landmark contracts with US automakers and ahead of an election next year.
Two UAW members involved with the effort told the financial news outlet that workers at a Metro Detroit Stellantis truck factory and an engine plant in southeast Michigan voted over the weekend to start the union’s process to remove Fain. These votes followed earlier ones held by four other local UAW chapters, reaching the threshold needed to bring allegations of financial mismanagement, workplace retaliation, and other issues to the federal monitor overseeing the UAW for potential discipline.
GM Flint Assembly worker David Pillsbury and Brian Keller, a Stellantis worker who intends to run against Fain next year, claim that the union leader lacked transparency during his tenure.
"I supported Shawn [Fain], but his spending is out of control, and he’s retaliatory,” Pillsbury told Bloomberg in an interview. “The transparency Shawn promised hasn’t happened.”
Art Wheaton, the director of labor studies at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, told Bloomberg that the group seeking to oust Fain is a small fraction of the UAW, which comprises more than 600 locals. Despite this, these groups are part of a vocal bunch that was hurt by recent layoffs.
Pillbury himself noted that voter turnout at some UAW locals was quite low. For example, during a vote at the local representing the Sterling Heights Stellantis plant, the Ram 1500 plant that employs 6,200, just 63 workers participated over the weekend of August 2. Out of those, all but one voted to remove Fain from his position.
If the union challenges any of the victories because of low voter turnout or for any other reason, he said he wants enough wins to maintain the six victories needed to push ahead. Pillsbury said they plan to take their proposal next to a pair of plants in Ohio and at Fain’s home base in Kokomo, Indiana.
UAW members have been affected by layoffs
Despite having strong support among a large number of University graduate student teaching aides represented by the union, per Wheaton, some of the sentiment against Fain comes from UAW workers who are upset about the thousands of layoffs at Stellantis factories since the 2023 contract was ratified.
Prior to the departure of embattled CEO Carlos Tavares in December 2024, Stellantis made significant cuts by reducing shifts and laying off thousands of workers to address its excess dealer inventory. Cars remained unsold, and the automaker's market share fell despite heavy discounts on vehicles that piled up on dealer lots.
Five of the six locals that voted to begin removal proceedings represent Stellantis workers. UAW Local 140 President Eric Graham, who represents Stellantis's Warren Truck Plant, stated that the contract negotiated by Fain allowed Stellantis to eliminate hundreds of temporary workers, who have since been replaced by part-time summer employees.
"They told the people that ‘this is the best contract ever,’ and it was — incentive-wise," said Graham. However, he noted that the way Fain pressured automakers like Stellantis, which made the companies "spend money they didn’t want to spend," put jobs at risk.
Final thoughts
In a recent exclusive interview with the Detroit Free Press, UAW Vice President Rich Boyer spoke out against President Shawn Fain, who described a “toxic” environment at the top of the union. Boyer's sentiment echoes the grievances of Pillsbury and Keller, who accuse the UAW president of being "retaliatory,", especially towards top brass like UAW Treasurer-Secretary Margaret Mock and Boyer himself.
In an extensive peek into the UAW's leadership, the 40-year union veteran noted that the internal struggles at the top took a toll on his professional and personal life, noting that "a real leader wouldn’t do the things [Fain] does." Additionally, Boyer portrayed a grim situation within the UAW’s 14-member International Executive Board, where "cliques" and a flawed communication system leave leaders like Boyer hanging with unanswered phone calls and vital union matters unresolved. He argued that Fain’s leadership prioritizes loyalty over the welfare of card-carrying UAW members.
“If you’re not in that small clique, and you say something out of context, you’re looking at possibly a demotion or termination,” Boyer said. “That’s improper. That’s not a democratic process.”
A UAW Faction is Seeking To Oust President Shawn Fain first appeared on Autoblog on Aug 6, 2025
This story was originally reported by Autoblog on Aug 6, 2025, where it first appeared.
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