A Country That Works

A Conversation with Andy Stern

October 4, 2006, 3:00pm – 4:00pm

About This Event

The Center for American Progress held an event last week to discuss the new book by Andy Stern, A Country That Works. At the event, Stern discussed the central theme of his book, a calls for unions to “recognize competition” and adapt to the “global economy” by dropping demands for “trade barriers.”

Stern urges unions build a “global union movement” that can defend worker’s rights in the new economic environment. He also calls on unions to form “labor-management partnerships” in order to achieve their goals.

Stern used the event to deliver a critique of the ideas and strategies held by many of America’s labor unions. Under Stern’s direction, the SEIU split with the AFL-CIO in July 2005. Labor unions have traditionally called for the rollback of free trade agreements, arguing that they hurt manufacturing jobs. Stern, however, rejected calls for the reinstatement of “trade barriers,” shunning the protectionist and anti-globalization rhetoric usually associated with union leaders.

Stern called for the formation of a “global union movement” that works within the new economic realities. In his opinion, unions must first cooperate at the international level in order to achieve success in their own countries. Quoting The Communist Manifesto, he said that “Workers of the world, unite!” is “more than just a slogan.”

Stern believes, for example, that Chinese workers could cooperate with their American counterparts to fight for shared rights. He said that “if you put Chinese and American workers in the same room, you’ll see that their concerns and grievances are the same.” He also noted that China recently became the first country where Wal-Mart workers were able to form a union, and expressed hope that “a new paradigm of global unionism” would allow Wal-Mart’s workers to fight on “an international scale” against unfair labor practices.

“The era of strikes is over,” Stern emphasized. “Labor-management partnerships,” rather than strikes, are more effective methods of achieving worker’s rights in the postindustrial era in his opinion. Although union leaders commonly face accusations that they are too friendly with corporate executives, Stern seemed unafraid of such criticism. “The New Deal,” he bluntly stated, “is no longer alive.”

Featured Speaker:
Andy Stern, President, Service Employees International Union, CLC and author of "A Country That Works: Getting America Back on Track"

Moderated by:
Melody Barnes, Executive Vice President for Policy, Center for American Progress

Location

Center for American Progress
1333 H St. NW
Washington, DC 20005

Biographies

Andy Stern, the author of A Country That Works: Getting America Back on Track, is President of the 1.8 million-member Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the largest and fastest-growing union in North America. He is widely recognized as the new face of the labor movement and has also emerged as one of the most powerful and provocative actors in American politics today. Elected in 1996 to succeed John Sweeney as president of SEIU, Stern made headlines when he led his union out of the AFL-CIO in July 2005 to focus on new and modern strategies to organize workers in the 21st century global economy. More recently, he challenged the status quo by calling for an end to employer-based health care in favor of a health care system that helps U.S. companies compete worldwide while still providing quality, affordable coverage to every American. Stern's bold criticism of labor's hidebound methods and ineffective representation of workers combined with his blistering indictments of the Bush administration's economic policies have made him a voice for change and a force to be reckoned with. Born in West Orange, New Jersey, Stern was a student leftist in the 1960s. He earned a B.A. in education and urban planning from the University of Pennsylvania. Stern began his career as a social worker and SEIU member in 1973, eventually being elected president of his Pennsylvania local. In 1980, he was elected to the union's executive board, and in 1984 then-president Sweeney put him in charge of its organizing efforts.

Melody Barnes is the Executive Vice President for Policy at the Center for American Progress where she coordinates and helps to integrate all of the Center's policy work, from the policy departments, fellows, and the Center's network of outside policy experts. From December 1995 until March 2003, Ms. Barnes served as chief counsel to Senator Edward M. Kennedy on the Senate Judiciary Committee. As Senator Kennedy's chief counsel, she shaped civil rights, women's health and reproductive rights, commercial law, and religious liberties laws, as well as executive branch and judicial appointments. Ms. Barnes' experience also includes an appointment as Director of Legislative Affairs for the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and serving as assistant counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights. During her tenure with the Subcommittee, she worked closely with Members of Congress and their staffs to pass the Voting Rights Improvement Act of 1992, which was signed into law. Ms. Barnes began her career as an attorney with Shearman & Sterling in New York City and is a member of both the New York State Bar Association and the District of Columbia Bar Association. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of The Constitution Project, EMILY's List, The Maya Angelou Public Charter School, and The Moriah Fund. She received her law degree from the University of Michigan and her bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she graduated with honors in history.