Mattie Best a founding member of 1199 in Rochester, NY passed away in late January.



In 1973, Mattie teamed up with a young organizer named Larry Fox who Local 1199 sent to Rochester in response to a request from the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), one of the 1960s key civil rights organizations. CORE had heard of poor working conditions and discriminatory employment practices at the University of Rochester’s Strong Hospital, and had asked Local 1199 to send help.



Mattie had prayed for assistance in fighting against these conditions. When she met Larry, she said, “My prayers have been answered.” The two formed a dynamic team, and together with others, led over 500 workers into the first health care workers union in Rochester. When the workers won a labor board election and Strong refused to recognize the union, Mattie led a sit-in, occupying the hospital’s administrative offices until management relented.



Mattie Best joined the union’s negotiating committee and participated in every collective bargaining session between Strong’s service workers and its powerful administration for years to come.



The union contracts negotiated by her and other dedicated employees not only raised workers’ standard of living, but provided free health care, retirement security, and broke down the lines of racial discrimination in hiring and promotions at the University. Although 1199 was not successful in helping other hospital employees to organize, contracts negotiated at Strong Memorial pushed those managements to improve wages and treat their employees just a little bit better for fear those workers would organize too.



In the formative years of the union in Rochester, Mattie Best was an enormous presence. She grew up in the segregated South and as a result had very little formal education. She led the union without knowing how to read until late in life – her leadership, her skills, and her passion were that strong.



She knew when to confront and when to compromise, always moving in the right direction. She was the true embodiment of Dr. King’s activism, combining the struggles for social justice and for economic justice into a single daily fight for fairness.



There would be no 1199 in Rochester if were not for Mattie Best. The union stands on the shoulders of her incredible courage.