John E. Shinn

International Secretary-Treasurer

John Shinn took office as the union’s Chief Financial Officer effective July 15, 2019, and was reelected as International Secretary-Treasurer in 2021.

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 reelected as Director 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 also partnered with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) 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 to keep and create jobs in America and called for an end to the use of foreign steel in the reconstruction of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in New York and in the Bayonne Bridge connecting New York and New Jersey.

Shinn currently serves as Chairman of the USW Chemical Sector.

He 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 and 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 USW Sub-District Director in 2009.

Over the years, Shinn has served on many labor councils, state AFL-CIOs and community and safety organizations.