Service Employees International Union President Andy Stern will soon announce his future plans with the organization, a union official has confirmed.

“Over the past few months, there has been increasing speculation regarding SEIU President Andy Stern’s intention to step down as president at the end of his term in 2012,” SEIU spokesman Mark McCullough wrote in an e-mail. “President Stern will address these rumors at the close of the SEIU Executive Committee meeting this week.”

Exact timing on a possible Stern retirement announcement is uncertain, according to McCullough. Labor officials are holding three days of strategy sessions in Washington, D.C., this week to discuss union priorities ahead of the midterm elections. A key White House ally, SEIU played a large role in Democratic victories in the last election and lobbied heavily for the health care reform bill.

“There will be a series of discussions regarding the union’s future, including our plans for growth in our core industries, our work to reform the financial institutions that trashed our economy, and our efforts to hold elected leaders accountable to working families,” McCullough wrote.