Last July, in Chicago, Andy Stern broke up the AFL-CIO's1 50th-anniversary celebration by leading 4.6 million workers in three dissident unions out of the largest US labor organization. In doing so, he not only demonstrated the flair for the dramatic that has marked his tenure as president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) but also took squarely upon his shoulders the responsibility for rebuilding the US labor movement—or for its demise—at a time when unions represent just one worker in eight, down from one in three during the 1950s.
Today Stern, 55, has expanded his rebel band into a labor federation representing some six million workers, including drivers, food workers, carpenters, hotel workers, laborers, farm workers, janitors, and health care workers. His course so far bears witness to how effectively he has taken advantage of the service economy's growth. By focusing on raising the wages and benefits of workers in low-wage, fast-growing jobs, he has built the 1.8 million–member SEIU into the fastest-growing union in the United States.
Most of the dissident unions operate in service industries whose workers are relatively protected from the threat of outsourcing jobs abroad. Nevertheless, unlike Stern's former AFL-CIO compatriots—leaders of the manufacturing...