Cover Story
Janitors union head
Andy Stern ambitiously
blends labor and politics.
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AMY KELLER Jewish Renaissance Media
Washington
ean, energetic and undeniably sharp, Andy
Stern is comfortable as a jacket-and-tie labor
leader, hobnobbing with senators and
zestfully playing zero-sum political games
in air-conditioned offices on Capitol Hill.
But with chameleon-like ease, Stern can
switch to his trademark purple T-shirt, pull a
ball cap down over his mostly gray hair and
rub elbows in the streets with the thousands
of janitors he represents.
In his six years at the helm of the Service
Employees International Union (SEIU), the
largest union in the AFL-CIO, Stern has estab-
lished himself as one of the most influential
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unelected Jewish leaders in the political arena.
WORKING MAN on page
48
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