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

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