by James Parks, Oct 29, 2007

Working families are mourning the loss of Cheryl Johnson, RN, president of the United American Nurses (UAN) and a member of the AFL-CIO Executive Council. Johnson died early Sunday morning surrounded by family and friends.

Johnson, 57, was the first president of the UAN, which was founded in 2000 and affiliated with the AFL-CIO in 2001. Susan Bianchi-Sand, national executive director of UAN, says:

We have been richly privileged to work with Cheryl. We learned from her to take risks, to speak boldly for staff nurses, and not to be afraid of progress or change. Cheryl acted on the integrity of her beliefs and made other people strong as a result. Her voice and her values will never go away.

Her colleagues also remember her as a person who enjoyed her life. She was a roller blader and tap dancer as well as a loving mother and grandmother.

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney praised Johnson as a real pioneer for nurses.

She provided forceful and respected leadership to build a nurses’ union that simply refused to sit quietly by as health care came under greater and greater corporate control.   

Cheryl spoke from real experience, working her hospital shift even as she took on a second (and sometimes, third) shift as a leader. She was the quintessential nurse, grounded and passionate at the same time. She never took herself too seriously, but she took every slight to nurses as deeply serious business.   

The entire AFL-CIO family is deeply saddened by the passing of Cheryl Johnson. We will miss her spirit and her leadership.   

Johnson led the fight for greater respect and safer working conditions for all staff nurses. She was a vocal leader in the effort to overturn three National Labor Relations Board decisions, which created a new definition of supervisor, one which potentially excludes up to 8 million workers from joining unions. 

In addition to serving as president of the UAN, Johnson continued her work as a critical care nurse at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor, Mich. She also was a vice president of the Coalition of Labor Union Women, an AFL-CIO constituency group. 

Johnson also remained active in her local union. She was elected president of the Michigan Nurses Association (MNA) in October 2003 and re-elected in 2005 and 2007. She has previously served in various leadership roles in the MNA, including vice president and board member. University of Michigan nurses made significant improvements in working conditions under her leadership as the vice chair and chair of her local bargaining unit in the 1990s. 

Memorial plans have not been announced.

Print This Article | E-Mail This Article | Comments (1)