For over 43 years, Richard C. Shaw was active in the Texas union movement. Shaw retired in 2017 from his position as the Secretary-Treasurer of the Harris County AFL-CIO Council. Prior to his 1995 election to the labor council, he had been the president of the Houston Federation of Teachers. After leaving HFT, Shaw held posts with AFSCME Local 1550 as a business representative and as an executive director, in addition to serving as a vice president of the Texas AFL-CIO. Shaw has also worked in government for the City of Houston and is an election judge for Harris County voting Precinct 165.