AFL-CIO Executive Council Statement on Paul Shearon's Retirement
The AFL-CIO Executive Council celebrated the service of Paul Shearon, retired international president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers.
After a distinguished career with IFPTE’s largest Local, the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, SPEEA/IFPTE Local 2001, where he led the landmark Boeing strike in 2000, Shearon was elected to serve as the international’s secretary-treasurer, a position he held from 2006–2018. In 2018, he was elected unanimously as international president.
Throughout his career, Shearon was committed to building collective strength through organizing and raising the standards of workers in the United States and Canada. He shored up the union’s finances and focused on providing the needed resources for organizing, especially internal organizing.
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IFPTE named to AFL-CIO Executive Council
Following former president, Paul Shearon’s retirement from IFPTE in August, and his stepping down from representing IFPTE on the AFL-CIO Executive Council, president Matt Biggs was named this week to represent IFPTE on the AFL-CIO governing board. The announcement came during the AFL-CIO’s fall meetings, which is the first executive council meeting since president Shearon retired in August.
Biggs commented that, “I am honored to have the opportunity to represent IFPTE’s diverse membership on the AFL-CIO executive council. IFPTE has been a proud member of America’s labor movement since our inception in 1918. We are looking forward to working collectively with President Shuler, Secretary-Treasurer Redmond, Executive Vice President Gebre, and the AFL-CIO staffto ensure that the issues facing our membership are brought to the highest levels of our labor movement.”
During the meeting the AFL-CIO also honored Paul Shearon for his service to our labor movement, saying that his, “activism and dedication will leave an imprint on North America’s working families for generations to come.”