Andy Stern, head of the Services Employees International Union (SEIU) has a fight on his hands. It’s not with Corporate America, but with a prominent union official, who has accused Stern of growing the union at the cost of not getting enough benefits for its members.
The SEIU is the largest union in the country with 1.9 million members. It has had enormous success in its organizing efforts, utilizing innovative techniques to get new members. Andy Stern has been the driving force behind the success of SEIU.
At the annual convention of SEIU in Puerto Rico in June, the insurgent wants to end the management style of Stern.
One of the union members claims that he was fighting both his employer and the union to get what he considered to be appropriate benefits.
This is an example of what happens when a union gets to be too big and feels that its very size not only gives it inordinate leverage in its negotiations with Corporate America, but also with its members as well. Such is the scenario that leads to union failures.
