Andrew Stern set to resign as head of major union, SEIU official says.

[elleng]

Source: wapo

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid irritating union officials.

Stern, 59, took the helm of SEIU in 1996, succeeding his mentor John Sweeney after he left to assume the presidency of the AFL-CIO federation.

But in 2005, Stern sent shock waves through the labor movement when he took SEIU out of the AFL-CIO and created a rival federation with several other breakaway unions, including the Teamsters. He argued that the AFL-CIO had become too complacent and not aggressive enough about organizing new workers to stem its membership decline.

Read more: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2010/04/stern-set-to-resign-as-head-of.html?hpid=topnews

[Proletariatprincess]

1. He surely is not retiring at age 59....

I wonder what the hell he is up to? Let's just hope it is good for the American Labor Movement and not some self serving endeavor.

[elleng]

2. Are you familiar with him?

[Citizen Worker]

3. Good news for the House of Labor

Andy Stern drove a wedge into the House Of Labor when he took five Unions out of the AFL/CIO and created the Change To Win coalition. Nothing much changed and very little was won. In fact, when elements of SEIU began to show democratic rank and file impulses Stern attempted to crush these impulses while cozying up to the corporate bosses trying to convince them that they would be better off dealing with a more compliant SEIU then they would a more militant and rank and file centered Union.

For more on the machinations of Andy Stern see: www.seiuvoice.org

[elleng]

4. Web site unavailable.

[Brickbat]

5. Good. He's been little more than bad news.

[elleng]

6. xplain, please

[Brickbat]

8. He put a dangerous split in the labor movement and was an ineffective leader for his new federation.

Change to Win got wrapped up in politicking and spending lots of money and abandoned its organizing push. It did much more harm than good -- and as far as bringing in the carpenters and Teamsters and talking about a reduction in corruption and high-living officials, well, as the kids say, LMAO.

[arbusto_baboso]

7. Good. This guy has only been in the back pocket of managers everywhere.

Line workers have suffered more in his "unions" than in others.

[elleng]

9. 'his unions?'

Service employees? Could you explain/discuss?

[arbusto_baboso]

13. I would say SEIU represented workers have made more concessions...

on pay and benefits than workers in pretty much any other national unions, with the exception of the auto workers.

[Brickbat]

10. Any word on where he's going? I'm assuming Obama has something ready for him.

[musiclawyer]

11. SEIU engages in thuggish practices during unit modifications

I mean mistreatment of its own people who want to break away to rival unions. This very common in CA and such practices are so common that the tactics had to have the blessing of top officials. His departure is not a bad thing.

[LetsgoWings13]

12. that upsets me!

[saracat]

14. Hah. Maybe this has something to do with the NC SIEU supporting a new political party

that would be a progressive alternative to the Democratic Party. Good riddance to bad rubbish with Stern. He was just a pol faking it as a union leader. He will probably end up a lobbyist of some kind.

[laughingliberal]

15. I confess limited knowledge of SEIU but I know several groups of hospital nurses

who organized under them eventually ditched them. One hospital up here the nurses voted to unionize and it took them 3 years to get a contract and then it wasn't a good one.