Remember Cheryl Johnson, RN, UAN President

Detroit News

'Pioneer for nurses' headed union

For most of her 30-plus years as a nurse, Cheryl L. Johnson fought not only for her patients but also for the working rights of the caregivers at their bedside.

A registered nurse specializing in critical care at the University of Michigan Health System, Ms. Johnson had also served since 2003 as president of the Michigan Nurses Association, the largest nursing union in the state, with more than 10,000 members.

She was also a founding member and president of the United American Nurses, which represents 115,000 registered nurses nationally.

Ms. Johnson died, Oct. 28, 2007, in Ann Arbor after suffering a brain aneurysm. She was 57.

"Nurses and patients have lost a tremendous advocate," said Tom Bissonnette, co-executive director of the Michigan Nurses Association.

For most of this year, Ms. Johnson led the Nurses Association's effort to unionize nurses at the Detroit Medical Center. Outside work, Ms. Johnson of Brighton doted on her grandson, Jack, and loved to knit and tap dance.

Her warm bedside manner (and her knack for knitting) made it easy for her to strike up conversations with perfect strangers, said Bissonnette, who traveled with Ms. Johnson on business trips.

She was a longtime leader in the Michigan Nurses Association. Before being elected president, she served as vice president and as president of the Washtenaw-Livingston-Monroe chapter.

She was inducted into the Michigan Nurses Hall of Fame in 2006.

Ms. Johnson guided the United American Nurses to its affiliation with the AFL-CIO in 2001 and afterward was elected to the AFL-CIO Executive Council, where she served as a national voice in the labor community for the interests of nurses.

She was one of the few women and the only registered nurse serving on the council.

Ms. Johnson also served on the AFL-CIO Executive Committee, the highest governing body of the federation. In 2005, she was named a vice president for the Coalition of Labor Union Women.

"Cheryl Johnson was a real pioneer for nurses," said John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO. "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."

Ms. Johnson is survived by her daughter, Nikki Briggs; son-in-law, Brett Briggs; a grandson; two brothers; and her parents.