Andy Stern is retiring after 14 years as the boss of the Service Employees International Union. Thanks to Stern’s unmatched ability to unionize employees in the long-term field, he leaves a mixed legacy. Among workers, he is almost universally revered. Among operators, he is similarly reviled.
His deputy, Anna Burger, is his likely successor.
Stern is leaving the nation’s second-largest union at a time when his powers have perhaps never been greater. More than 150,000 nursing home employees now belong to the 2.1 million-member organization.
He grew the SEIU while overall labor membership was declining. SEIU had 625,000 members in 1981. The number was just over 1 million when he became president in 1996.
Stern, who could be both charismatic and polarizing, is one of the most dynamic leaders labor has seen in decades.
He built the SEIU by reaching out to nursing home workers, janitors and other employees that few other unions seemed interested in representing.
From the May 01, 2010 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
