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Line 14: }} {{For\|other people with this name\|Andrew Stern}} '''Andrew L. "Andy" Stern''' (born [[November 22]] [[1950]]), is the president of the [[Service Employees International Union]], the largest and fastest-growing union in the [[United States]] and [[Canada]].{{Fact\|date=August 2008}} ==Career== Elected in 1996 to succeed [[John Sweeney (labor leader)\|John Sweeney]], Stern has become known as something of a firebrand in the [[labor movement]], adopting a strategy of aggressive [[organizing]] while sometimes vocally criticizing other union leaders and the AFL-CIO's organizing structure. One of the co-founders of the [[New Unity Partnership]], Stern publicly suggested his and other unions would split from the AFL-CIO if it failed to make major organizational changes. On [[July 25]] [[2005]] the SEIU, along with the [[Teamsters]], announced that it was officially disaffiliating from the AFL-CIO. The two unions, and others, would form the [[Change to Win Federation]]. Stern was widely expected to support the anticipated candidacy of [[John L. Wilhelm]], vice-president of [[UNITE HERE]], for AFL-CIO president (challenging Sweeney) in 2005; after the AFL-CIO split this came to nothing. Line 26 ⟶ 29: On October 3, 2006, he appeared on ''[[The Colbert Report]]'' to promote his new book ''[[A Country That Works]]''. On October 4, he appeared on ''Democracy Now!'' <ref>[http://www.democracynow.org/index.pl?issue=20061004 Democracy Now! \| October 04, 2006<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> to promote the same book. ==Controversy== Currently, Stern is involved in a controversy over the future direction of SEIU, because he believes that union density (the percentage of the workforce covered by collective bargaining contracts) should be the primary goal of SEIU - getting more workers organized into SEIU.<ref>National Review article http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=MmI0YWQ3MDgzYzNkODU1OTc0ZjE1Y2UwOTYwYmRjZTM=</ref> But critics of this perspective argue that Stern's method of doing this are undemocratic.<ref>SF Bay Guardian story http://www.sfbayguardian.com/printable_entry.php?entry_id=6161</ref> They point to the proposed terms of the new contracts - 20-year deals that forbid striking and allow grievances and arbitrations only over terminations (excluding wage rates, hours, working conditions, leave time, sexual harassment, etc). Line 35 ⟶ 39: \|date=2008-09-03 }}</ref> On January 21, 2009, San Francisco SEIU leader accused Stern of trying to wrest control of the entire union, before the National Labor Relations Board had a chance to review charges relating to the lawsuits against Stern and the national SEIU leadership.<ref>[http://www.sfweekly.com/2008-02-20/news/local-union-leader-rosselli-blasts-seiu-boss-andy-stern/ "Sal Rosselli Blasts SEIU Leader Andy Stern", ''SF Weekly'' (January 21, 2009)]</ref><ref>[http://www.seiuvoice.com Dissident SEIU Website]</ref> Most significant for critics is most workers in a bargaining unit would not get a vote on such contracts, only a few people that would be chosen to bargain for them. One union that has been very vocal about Stern's proposed changes in negotiations is UHW West, a California local headed by Sal Rosselli, the second largest in the country. UHW West has charged Stern with wanting to dispense with union democracy in favor of fast growth that leaves union members without a voice in their workplaces and their collective bargaining contracts. The issue of union democracy is expected to a major point of contention at the SEIU convention in June 2008.<ref>See San Francisco Business Journal story http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2008/04/07/story15.html?b=1207540800%5E1615567</ref>