Harold Meyerson on the fight over who will succeed Andy Stern as president of SEIU:
For a union that frequently takes to the streets with drums banging, the contest within the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) to succeed outgoing president Andy Stern is proceeding with uncustomary discretion. Two candidates — Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger and Executive Vice President Mary Kay Henry — are vying for the job, but neither has issued any public statements or put forth platforms that make clear their differences. The candidates are busily wooing undecided members of SEIU’s board, which will select the president who will serve until the union’s next convention two years hence. But neither has yet unveiled a real campaign.
Part of the reason that the campaigns are muted is that the contest is in an odd kind of limbo. Stern has not yet stepped down — an act that would trigger the executive board decision on his successor 30 days later. He is trying to line up the votes for Burger, whom he endorsed in a letter to board members last weekend, before he goes. This puts Stern in something of a bind: Having announced quite publicly that he is going forthwith, he cannot postpone his departure date much longer without looking — well, silly.
