FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Katie Barrows
Communications Manager
P: 202-549-5991
kbarrows@dpeaflcio.org

WASHINGTON, April 7, 2020 - Today, the Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE) Executive Committee elected International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) President Paul Shearon to chair the DPE General Board. As chair, President Shearon’s responsibilities include heading DPE’s governing body, serving as a member of the DPE executive committee, presiding at board meetings, functioning as one of DPE’s fiduciary trustees, assisting in the appointment of committees, and helping fill leadership vacancies.  

“Professionals are essential to the future of the labor movement, and I’m honored to chair this great coalition of unions,” said President Shearon. “Whether you are an aerospace engineer, digital journalist, teacher, or any one of the more than 64 million professionals in this country, there is much to gain by joining together in union with your colleagues. I look forward to working with DPE in this new capacity and developing new ideas to organize professionals.”

President Shearon entered the labor movement as a member of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, IFPTE Local 2001 (SPEEA) when he was a programmer at the Boeing Company. He has over 20 years of experience as a leader of union professionals, becoming SPEEA’s organizing director in 1996. In this role, he helped add 5,000 aerospace professionals to the union and helped plan SPEEA’s strike in 2000. President Shearon was elected IFPTE secretary-treasurer in 2006 and became IFPTE’s president in 2018.

“President Shearon has a long history of communicating the benefits of union membership to professionals,” said DPE President Jennifer Dorning. “We couldn’t be more excited for President Shearon to chair DPE’s general board and help strengthen our coalition.”

DPE’s executive committee elected American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) National President Dr. Everett Kelley to fill the DPE general vice president position vacated by President Shearon. A union member for more than 35 years, Dr. Kelley has grown the ranks of union professionals in every role he has served as an AFGE activist and leader.

“Dr. Kelley’s expertise and dedication to ensuring a thriving, effective labor movement for federal sector professionals will be invaluable for all DPE affiliates,” said Dorning. 

About DPE

The Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE) is a coalition of 24 unions representing over four million professional and technical union members. DPE affiliate unions represent professionals in over 300 occupations in education and healthcare; science, engineering, and technology; legal, business, and management; media, entertainment, and the arts; and public administration.