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Random Thoughts, Prognostications on Andy Stern's Abrupt Departure from SEIU

 |  By John Commins  
   April 19, 2010

Regardless of how you feel about Andy Stern, president of the 2.2 million-member Service Employees International Union, there is no denying that he is the most important labor leader of his generation.

So, it came as a surprise when he announced last week that he would resign the position he has held since 1996. His resignation—two years before his term ends—comes at an apparent high point for organized labor. SEIU, with half of its membership from the healthcare sector, played a crucial role in raising money, and electing President Barack Obama and the Democratic majority in Congress. The union worked hard for the passage of the jobs bill and healthcare reform by targeting wavering Democratic lawmakers and bolstering their support. In return, Stern has had unfettered access to the White House, with nearly 40 trips since Obama took office, according to several media accounts.

Labor was expected to make a concerted push this year for the Employee Free Choice Act—or a watered down version of it—which still would be the most sweeping pro-labor legislation in decades. After the bruising healthcare reforms fight, however, the labor bill's fate is in limbo.

Why did Andy Stern quit? Pose that question on Google and you'll get rampant speculation and intrigue.

In a video message to SEIU's members, however, Stern touted his accomplishments, insisted he had no immediate future plans, and suggested that he is burned out. "I've seen too many leaders who've stayed on too long. I have no intention of being one of them . . . I leave the job I love by choice," Stern said. "But for all the joy, there has been sorrow as well. The loss of my 13-year-old daughter Cassie (in 2002) and the 24/7 responsibilities of this job have left me at times not paying enough attention to the personal dimensions of my life."

The news of Stern's departure brought swift and unequivocal reactions across ideological rainbow, from inside organized labor and well without. The Wall Street Journal said in a scathing editorial that Stern is leaving the SEIU $85 million in debt—right before Republicans are expected to make significant gains in November, thus weakening labor's hand.

Sal Rosselli, interim president of the breakaway National Union of Healthcare Workers, and a bitter foe of the SEIU, said Stern's "legacy is that he took control of an organization built by more than a million hardworking janitors, healthcare workers, and public servants, and used their resources primarily to secure his own political power."

Marick F. Masters, director of the Fraser Center for Workplace Issues and Labor at Wayne State University in Detroit, said he's inclined to take Stern at his word. "He had the presence of mind to leave when he is at the top rather than to stay longer," Masters says. "And the fact is he has been the leader of that organization since 1996. How many corporate executives stay at the helm for as long as he has? You are talking about 14 years being the head of an organization that has been at the center of most of the controversies that labor has been involved in that time period. It's reasonable that he could be a little tired."

Masters says Stern leaves now to ensure that new leadership is well in place to help Democrats in the fall elections. "If his union is going to play as effective a role as he wants, he would want somebody else at the helm to begin to take over the reins," Masters says.

Jim Trivisonno, president of Detroit-based IRI Consultants to Management, Inc., says Stern, with his Ivy League education, high articulation, and global perspective, was extremely effective, even though he didn't fit the classic image of the rough-and-tumble labor leader. "He will be difficult to replace," Trivisonno says. "From a strict leadership standpoint, folks like Stern don't come around very often and he accomplished a lot of organized labor generally and SEIU specifically."

Stern did not say exactly when he would leave. Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger will serve for 30 days after Stern's departure, when a new president will be elected by the SEIU board to finish Stern's term.

"Some of the people being mentioned to replace him are probably capable, but they will definitely have a different style—some more aggressive, others not," Trivisonno says. "But the SEUI has a pretty good infrastructure and they are focused on healthcare, which is a right area for organized unions."

It's hard for me to imagine that someone like Stern—who joined the union as a 22-year-old and worked his entire life to make it the leading voice in organized labor—would suddenly walk away from his job two years before his term expires—just as the union appeared poised to enjoy the fruits of its labor. We are talking about the most powerful person in organized labor, the head of an organization representing 2.2 million people. It has been my experience–after covering politics for more than two decades—that people in power do not readily give up that power unless someone or something is shoving them out the door.

Burn out? Sorry, I don't buy it.


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John Commins is a content specialist and online news editor for HealthLeaders, a Simplify Compliance brand.

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