National Nurses United

M AY | J U N E 2 0 1 7 W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G N A T I O N A L N U R S E 13 Thank you, Mike. The nursing profession and particularly union nurses owe a lot to you. —Sussette Nacorda, RN Mike is the model of the direction RoseAnn wanted to take the organization, when wrenching it away from the old guard of CNA and ANA that was more aligned with nurse and hospital management than working nurses, with a premise based on militant unionism that challenged corpo- rate medical care for the benefit of nurses and patients, emphasized class solidarity and political education, and took pride in building our union through organizing. Mike embodies what it means to be a work- ing-class intellectual who takes pride in labor history and working-class history and wants to imbue it in our organizational culture. —Chuck Idelson When St. Bernardine's Medical Center organized, they tried to fire me two weeks before our vote. I was just able to make it to the vote before closing time and when I walked in there was Mike Griffing, RoseAnn, and David Johnson. They walked me to the front of the room where I got to see our administration cringe with each YES vote. It was wonderful. After the vote was over and we had secured victory, the hospi- tal CNO asked who my "big friend" was? I stated with pride, "That's Mike and he is ours." I then went to help many other hospi- tals with Mike always being there for the final votes. With Mike, you always felt protected with the person and the union we were joining and growing. He will be truly missed. —Carol Koelle, RN To state the obvious, Mike Griffing is a large man. His presence makes him 20 feet tall and the biggest thing in the room. His presence commands victory. So, I don't care if it would be Mike Tyson or a management attorney, we could get fired up for any fight against any of our enemies once that gravelly voice says it is "on." But there is also another side that I got to see. When he overheard that I was looking to go to a certain A's ball- game, he slipped me his tickets. When I got sick and he came to visit, my daughter ran up to him as if he were a Disney character and sat on his lap for the whole time we had lunch. That grizzled UE labor legend became the most gentle and doting man with my little Violet in his lap. He under- stood what we went through and he was always one of us. —Shawn Bartlett Isn't he too young? —Jean Ross, RN, NNU Co-President Know that Mike leaves us in the highest esteem, with an enormous depth of appreci- ation. Mike has been a massive player in the labor movement, and I am certain that he will find a way to continue to play that role in his retirement. As NNU Treasurer Martha Kuhl said, "I know all of us will always want to be a part of the struggle for a more just world and we can always count on Mike for that." On behalf of all of the leadership and the staff, we send him away with much love and tremendous respect. RoseAnn DeMoro is executive director of National Nurses United. "[Mike's] response was, "Stop thinking like an attorney and think like an organizer." I've used that with coworkers many times since then."

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