Stern, Andrew L.
Stern, Andrew L.,
1950–, American labor leader, b. West Orange, N.J., grad., Univ. of Pennsylvania (B.A., 1971). A charismatic and frequently controversial reformer, he became a significant figure in the labor union movement. As a Pennsylvania state social worker he joined (1973) the Service Employees International UnionService Employees International Union(SEIU), labor union representing U.S. and Canadian workers in health care (doctors, nurses, health technicians), public services (government workers, school employees), building services (janitors, elevator operators, security officers) and
..... Click the link for more information. (SEIU), became a field organizer, the president of his local, and a member of SEIU's executive board (1980). In 1996 he succeeded John J. SweeneySweeney, John Joseph,
1934–, U.S. labor leader, b. New York City. An official of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) from 1960, he became president of the SEIU in 1980.
..... Click the link for more information. as union president. Stern earned a reputation as a new kind of union boss, building the various SEIU locals into a more cohesive national union, analyzing labor problems from a global perspective, and advocating a less confrontational approach to management in attaining worker benefits, but his methods also provoked opposition from some locals in the SEIU. He was also the leader of a reform movement within the AFL-CIO, but after failing to achieve the desired changes he led the SEIU out of the federation and with several other union leaders founded (2005) the Change to Win FederationChange to Win Federation,
coalition of seven labor unions representing primarily American workers. It was founded in 2005 as the Change to Win Coalition by five American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations unions that had united to make changes in the
..... Click the link for more information. . He stepped down as SEIU president in 2010 and was replaced by Mary Kay HenryHenry, Mary Kay,
1958–, American labor leader, b. Detroit, B.A. Michigan State Univ., 1979. She began working with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in 1979, focusing on union organizing and collective bargaining in the health-care industry.
..... Click the link for more information. , the union's first female leader.