At the peak of his influence, SEIU chief set to leave a mixed legacy

As he prepares to turn over the reins of the Service Employees International Union, Andrew L. Stern is at the apex of his political influence. He helped lead the push for the health-care overhaul that became law last month. He has visited the White House 38 times in President Obama's tenure, far more than other labor leaders. Obama named him to a new deficit commission.

But underlying Stern's glittering profile -- a well-connected visionary seeking to revive organized labor and lead the liberal vanguard -- is the complicated reality surrounding his departure, which he is expected to make official at a meeting Wednesday.

Although Stern expanded his own union at a time of general labor decline, that growth has ebbed, its finances are in poor shape and it is facing federal investigations into allegations that Stern loyalists stole funds.

Stern's mission to transform the labor movement as a whole is faltering. The breakaway federation he formed in 2005, Change to Win, has fallen short of its promise of launching a new era of organizing success. Most of its unions either have returned to the AFL-CIO or are on the verge of doing so, leaving the SEIU increasingly isolated.

Many labor supporters who hailed Stern as a savior are disillusioned. They say that his push to expand membership too often involved cutting deals with employers at the expense of favorable terms for workers. They are alarmed at the vicious internal fights that Stern has picked with a large California chapter and the hotel workers union, disputes that have drained resources and riven the movement when it could have taken advantage of a Democratic-controlled White House and Congress.

The rancor surrounding these internal battles -- and the charge from the SEIU's rivals that its tactics are undermining union democracy -- have undercut organized labor's push for its top priority, legislation to make it easier to organize workers, many in the movement say. Overall, they say, the rise of Stern's own star has failed to lift the prospects of the cause he sought to lead.

"A combination of events destroyed what ought to have been a great legacy for Andy," said John Wilhelm, the head of Unite Here, the hotel and garment workers union, with which the SEIU is feuding. "Andy could have been a really great labor leader. He's a smart guy with a lot of abilities and a strong strategic sense. But something happened to the guy. It says in Scripture that pride goeth before the fall, and that's what happened here."

Stern, 59, and SEIU officials declined to comment. But several of Stern's political allies hailed his achievements in 14 years as the union's chief, notably the leading role he played in pushing for health-care reform.

"The union played a steadfast role in supporting reform even at points when the union had some misgivings about some elements of the reform," said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, a liberal advocacy group. "They had a very good mixture of clear direction and yet also practicality so that reform would actually pass this year -- and much of this credit goes to Andy."

Although union membership in the private sector has dropped to near 7 percent, down from a third of workers in the 1950s, membership is expanding in the public sector, where much of the SEIU's growth has occurred. And even as their numbers have fallen, unions retain clout -- the SEIU spent $60 million on the 2008 elections.

But Stern's ambitions were far grander than clinging to what remained of organized labor's relevance. In 2005, the former social worker from New Jersey declared that he was leading the SEIU out of the AFL-CIO, the federation led by his onetime mentor, John Sweeney, into a new federation, accompanied by the Teamsters, Unite Here and the laborers union, among others. The AFL-CIO, Stern argued, was atrophying, focusing too much on protecting the gains of existing members instead of trying to sign up new ones.

Continues @ The Washington Post