The Detroit Free Press asked — and candidates answered.
All six candidates running to be the United Auto Workers' president — Rich Boyer, Shawn Fain, Tricia Geiger, Brian Keller, Will Lehman and Greg Mooney — participated in the Free Press' UAW Candidate Q&A series, where they were asked six questions about the future of the union and how they would mold it, were it in their hands.
Topics ranged from bargaining tactics to political affiliation. Each candidate also addressed the court-appointed monitorship, which has placed the union under the intense scrutiny of outside lawyers who file reports at least twice a year with the same federal judge who presided over a yearslong corruption scandal that blew up in court.
The race will be the second election
of a UAW president decided by direct democracy — an initiative adopted in 2021 that undid the union's standard delegate-based voting system. In 2023, members elected Fain in a runoff. Since taking office, Fain has become a household name and has garnered praise for his firebrand bargaining tactics and the 2023 so-called Stand-up Strike against all three Detroit automakers.
Fain, indeed, has enjoyed popularity in the union, though his image has been less favorable in the eyes of the federal monitor, Neil Barofsky, who has issued tomes of investigative reports about Fain's alleged penchant for retaliation and the infighting among top UAW officials.
Over the course of Barofsky's investigation, he has also uncovered what he believes to be enough evidence to warrant the involvement of the U.S. Department of Justice, which has launched a grand jury investigation into Fain over claims that he unfairly used his power to seek benefits for his family members.
Fain denied the allegations as the investigation commenced in July.
Nonetheless, the race appears to be Fain's to lose. He will be challenged by one of his own vice presidents, Boyer, and a spate of candidates from across the country.
Each candidate laid out their ambitions and platforms in the Free Press' UAW Candidate Q&A series, which you can read below:
Day 1: What do you see as the most important issue facing the United Auto Workers?
Day 2: Why are you running to be the president of the United Auto Workers?
Day 3: In 2028, the union's contracts with the Detroit 3 automakers will expire. During the next round of negotiations with the Detroit 3, what issues would you prioritize at the bargaining table?
Day 4: Union membership is a fraction of what it used to be (392,447 active members in 2025 compared with 1.5 million in 1979). Do you believe the UAW needs to grow? If so, how would you accomplish growth?
Day 5: The UAW has long carried considerable political influence. How would you use this position to advocate for labor on a national political scale? With what political party do you most closely align?
Day 6: Do you believe the federal monitorship of the UAW has been a net positive or net negative for the union? Explain your answer.
Liam Rappleye covers Stellantis and the UAW for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him: LRappleye@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: The race for UAW president: Hear what candidates told us
