United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain won reelection Friday, securing a majority of preliminary ballots and defeating five challengers in a vote overseen by a federal monitor. Fain, 57, rose to national prominence during the UAW’s 2023 strike against General Motors, Ford and Chrysler-parent Stellantis, when he pursued simultaneous negotiations and walkouts against all three automakers. His victory preserves the union’s leadership ahead of 2028 collective bargaining, when current agreements with the Detroit automakers expire and the UAW is already urging members to strike in the spring. Fain has said he will seek gains beyond the 2023 contracts, which provided wage increases of more than 25% over four years, including the restoration of pensions for all workers. The automakers face weaker vehicle demand, intensifying competition, tariff expenses, higher raw-materials costs and an expensive rollback of electric-vehicle plans, making them wary of significant labor-cost increases. The UAW also remains influential in Michigan politics and has identified protections against artificial intelligence and automation replacing factory jobs as a priority.