Tony Sheldon started his full-time working life as a cleaner and has been a leader in the Australian Trade Union movement for over 35 years. He served as National Secretary of the Transport Workers Union from 2006 to 2019.  

After his election as a Labor Senator for New South Wales in 2019, Tony declared that he would continue to serve the working people of Australia in the Senate “as a trade unionist first, and a parliamentarian second.” He pledged to work with workers, unions and companies to improve working conditions, safety and security in both the road transport and aviation industries.

In the Senate, Tony spearheaded inquiries into wage theft and the impact of COVID on the aviation industry, and chaired a landmark inquiry into job security. In 2021 and 2022, the Senate Inquiry on Job Security heard directly from working people across Australia as it documented the impact that growing precarious employment is having on their financial security, housing security and mental health.

In the Albanese Government he chairs the Senate Committee on Education and Employment, and is the Special Envoy for Disaster Recovery.

In 2014, Tony was elected Chairperson of the International Transport Workers’ Federation Road Transport Sector. He completed post-graduate studies at the University of NSW and the Harvard University Trade Union program. He led the NSW branch of the TWU from 1999 to 2008 and has served as a member of the Australian Labor Party (NSW Branch) Administrative Committee, a Board member of TWU Super, and is a former Senior Vice President of the Australian Labor Party (NSW) and former Vice President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions.