UAW Faces Federal Scrutiny Over $80 Million Investment Oversight

The United Auto Workers is facing deepening internal strife and federal oversight following allegations that union leadership failed to properly reinvest hundreds of millions of dollars from its strike fund—potentially costing the union up to $80 million in missed investment returns. According to union documents and officials familiar with the matter, the lapse occurred after the UAW liquidated approximately $340 million in stock assets during its landmark 2023 strike against General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis, a walkout that lasted six weeks and required strike pay for thousands of workers.

The liquidation, approved by a board vote in August 2023, was intended to ensure adequate funds to pay striking members $500 per week. Union policy stipulates that once the strike ends and new contracts are ratified—as they were in November 2023—those funds should be returned to a balanced portfolio, allocating 30 percent to stocks, 53 percent to fixed-income assets, and 17 percent to alternative investments. However, by September 2024, nearly a year after the strike began, the UAW’s investment portfolio still held only about 5 percent in equities, according to internal records.

The oversight is now under investigation by the federal monitor assigned to the UAW as part of a 2020 Department of Justice settlement agreement addressing prior corruption scandals. While the UAW has not publicly addressed the missed investment window, a February 2025 internal analysis reportedly found that if the union had reinvested per its own strategy—particularly in its preferred Russell 3000-linked equity fund—it could have gained approximately $80 million. That index rose 33 percent between late November 2023 and January 2025, underscoring the scale of the missed opportunity.

The reasons behind the delay remain unclear. Some officials have pointed to a lack of decisive action within the union’s leadership ranks. Others have suggested internal conflict between UAW President Shawn Fain and Secretary-Treasurer Margaret Mock may have played a role. In February 2024, Fain reassigned certain budgeting and expenditure responsibilities from Mock after she declined to authorize funding for organizing drives and strike preparation. That move was later deemed improper by the federal monitor, intensifying the leadership rift.

Mock has since been accused by a majority of board members of failing to produce key financial documents and allegedly contributing to the mismanagement of post-strike investments. In a public statement signed by 11 of the UAW’s 14 board members, Mock was also singled out as being under investigation for a “significant compliance failure” related to the union’s finances. However, the union has not confirmed whether any disciplinary actions are forthcoming or whether other executives share accountability.

The UAW’s external investment advisor, Segal Marco Advisors, was retained to help manage the strike fund—valued at approximately $1 billion—but it remains unclear whether the firm advised against reinvestment or whether its guidance was followed. The firm has not issued a public response, and the UAW has cited restrictions from the federal monitor as the reason for not commenting.

The incident comes at a pivotal moment for the UAW. After scoring historic contract wins during the 2023 strike and achieving a breakthrough unionization victory at Volkswagen’s Tennessee plant in April 2024, the union's momentum appeared to stall following a failed campaign at a Mercedes-Benz factory in Alabama in May. The investment controversy now threatens to further distract from ongoing organizing efforts, complicate internal operations, and erode member trust.

With nearly 400,000 active members and a renewed public profile following the strike, the UAW had been riding a wave of resurgence. But as federal scrutiny intensifies and internal divisions deepen, the financial fallout from the union’s delayed reinvestment could mark a new chapter of accountability for an organization still working to rebuild after years of prior misconduct. The monitor’s findings and any resulting leadership consequences are expected to shape the union’s trajectory well into 2026.