Tony Sheldon (trade unionist)

Anthony Vincent Sheldon (born 26 August 1961) is an Australian politician and trade unionist. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has served as a Senator for New South Wales since 2019. He was previously a senior figure in the Transport Workers Union (TWU), serving as state secretary (1999–2008) and national secretary (2006–2019).

Senator

Tony Sheldon
Senator for New South Wales
Assumed office
1 July 2019
Personal details
Born
Anthony Vincent Sheldon

(1961-08-26) 26 August 1961[1]
Caringbah, New South Wales, Australia
Political partyLabor
EducationDe La Salle College, Cronulla
University of New South Wales
Harvard Trade Union Program
OccupationTrade unionist

Early life

Sheldon was born on 26 August 1961 in Caringbah, New South Wales.[2] He attended De La Salle College, Cronulla.[3] He worked as a cleaner, bartender and garbage collector prior to becoming a professional unionist.[4] He undertook postgraduate studies in industrial law at the University of New South Wales and is also a graduate of the Harvard Trade Union Program.[3]

Transport Workers Union

Sheldon joined the TWU in the 1990s. He led the NSW branch of TWU from 1999 to 2008 and was elected TWU National Secretary in 2006.[5][6] In 2008, Sheldon was accused of running a joint employer–union training fund. A review by professional services firm Deloitte noted a lack of governance arrangements in the operation of the fund, which should have been in place to ensure its formal separation from the TWU.[7] In December 2011 he restructured elements of the TWU's national office, with a stated view to position the TWU for the future, but the move received some criticism from rival unions and disgruntled former members of staff.[8]

As TWU National Secretary, Sheldon led the widely praised TWU 'Safe Rates' campaign, where his negotiation skills and leadership of the TWU's campaigning were instrumental in garnering community and political support for the Road Safety Remuneration Act 2012, landmark legislation which is aimed at improving safety and conditions in the road transport industry.[9] In October 2015, he led a delegation to the International Labour Organization lobbying for a plan based on the Australian Safe Rates model to tackle unfair and unsafe remuneration as the root cause of the high global death toll in trucking.[10]

In May 2012 Sheldon was named one of the most powerful union leaders in Australia by the Power Index.[11] In 2014 he was elected chairperson of the International Transport Workers' Federation Road Transport Sector.[12] He resigned from the TWU in August 2018 following his preselection for the Senate.[4]

Sheldon also served as Vice President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, a member of the Australian Labor Party (New South Wales Branch) Administrative Committee, as a Board member to TWU Super and is a former Senior Vice President of the Australian Labor Party.[13]

Politics

Sheldon won ALP preselection for the Senate in June 2018, with the endorsement of the Centre Unity (Labor Right) faction.[14] The Sydney Morning Herald described him as a "strong backer of Labor leader Bill Shorten" and speculated he would be elevated to the ministry if the party won government.[4] He was elected to the Senate at the 2019 federal election to a term beginning on 1 July 2019.[2]

References
  1. Who's Who in Australia. ConnectWeb. 2019.
  2. "Senator Tony Sheldon". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  3. "Tony Sheldon". Australian Labor Party. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  4. Patty, Anna (13 August 2018). "From cleaner and garbo, to politics: Tony Sheldon resigns from TWU". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  5. "LaborNET: Workers Online Live News Feed: Tony Sheldon TWU resignation". Labor.net.au. 28 November 2008. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  6. Archived 19 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Norington, Brad (6 December 2008). "Truckies' mate bails out". The Australian.
  8. http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/union-heavy-sacks-staff/story-fn6b3v4f-1226224854306
  9. "Widow hopes new bill will cut fatalities". Fairfax.
  10. http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_dialogue/---sector/documents/meetingdocument/wcms_422448.pdf secure support
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 13 May 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. http://www.ownerdriver.com.au/industry-news/1408/twus-tony-sheldon-appointed-to-presidency-role-at-itf
  13. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 19 June 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. Bramston, Troy (11 June 2018). "TWU boss Tony Sheldon to be endorsed to top ALP Senate ticket". The Australian. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
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