John E. Shinn

John Shinn was appointed by the International Executive Board to succeed Secretary-Treasurer Stan Johnson as the union’s chief financial officer effective July 15, 2019. Johnson held the position since 2009.

Prior to his appointment, Shinn was Director of District 4, which includes Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Puerto Rico.

Shinn was elected to a four-year term as District 4 Director in 2013 after having been appointed to the position on Jan. 1, 2012, to replace retired Director William Pienta. He was re-elected again in 2017.

As Director, Shinn aggressively promoted the USW, its members and job creation in the District. Shortly after taking office, he coordinated the USW’s response to Hurricane Sandy, which tore through the Mid-Atlantic region in October 2012.

Shinn successfully fought for new contracts with members of Locals 12003 and 12012, who were locked out of their jobs in 2018 as gas utility workers at National Grid in Massachusetts.

Shinn also partnered with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers to launch an organizing drive for workers at Tesla’s solar panel factory in Buffalo, N.Y. Going beyond the traditional organizing model, Shinn and the IBEW worked with the Clean Air Coalition of Western New York and the Coalition of Economic Justice to build a brighter future for the Buffalo region.

As Director, Shinn supported legislation that would keep and create jobs in America and has called for an end to the use of foreign steel in the reconstruction of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York and in New Jersey’s Bayonne Bridge.

Shinn’s leadership roles as Director include chairing the USW’s Sappi and Huhtamaki councils. He is also coordinator of the Inter-Union Gas Conference.

Shinn has been a union activist throughout his career, which began in 1974 at CE Glass Co., now AFG Industries, in Cinnaminson, N.J. Shortly after joining CE Glass, he voted for representation by the United Glass and Ceramic Workers Union, which later merged with the Aluminum, Brick & Glass Workers International Union (ABG) and then the USW in 1997. Shinn served as vice president and president of the local.

In 1988, Shinn was appointed an international representative of the ABG. He was appointed Sub-District Director in 2009.

Over the years, Shinn has served on many labor councils and community and safety organizations. He currently serves on the New York AFL-CIO Executive Council.