In Memoriam - Doug Dority

We share with deep sadness the passing of our longtime leader, union brother and friend, Doug Dority. His vision, integrity and unwavering commitment to America’s workers shaped the mission and work of America’s Agenda: Health Care for All, for more than two decades.

 

Doug said famously, “America’s crisis of spiraling health care costs cannot be solved at the bargaining table.” He saw, then, the pressing need to found a union-led alliance of Labor, employers and health industry partners to identify and neutralize the drivers of persistent health cost inflation that he saw as the #1 economic challenge facing American workers, union employers and our national prosperity.

 

Doug stepped up to this challenge after decades of leadership on the front lines of struggle to secure a better life for America’s workers as a UFCW local union member, a local representative, UFCW Regional Director in several regions of the country, an officer and leader of the International UFCW, and serving as founding president of America’s Agenda and our sister health care policy think tank, The America’s Agenda Healthcare Education Fund beginning in 2005.

 

Doug dedicated his life to taking on the challenge of guaranteeing affordable access to high-quality health care for all Americans. Doug understood there were formidable challenges to solving America’s health cost crisis. He knew there were entrenched opponents to change, and he believed reforms benefitting American workers would not prevail without the leadership of America’s unions. He recognized that new and creative ways of organizing and communicating were needed.

 

His sights were always set high on winning transformative reform of American health care delivery, yet he was pragmatic in guiding our hard-fought battles for progress. Doug understood the nuances of politics and had a visceral understanding of the complex challenges of leadership.

 

The America’s Agenda Board of Directors knows firsthand how passionate Doug was about advancing our mission under his leadership, whether it was designing and winning historic state health care legislation in multiple states from Vermont to Colorado; fighting for effective health reforms in Congress; or winning billions of dollars in prescription drug savings for union families in New Jersey, Colorado and Minnesota. Most recently, Doug was moved by lifesaving programs supported by America’s Agenda, such as an organ transplantation program for union and employer partners, that reflect his belief that bold ideas combined with hard work can change lives.

 

Doug’s love for America’s workers and his deep care for the success of our Labor movement have inspired all of us. His integrity and relentless commitment to the well-being of workers earned him the trust of his members and allies and the respect of his adversaries.

 

We honor his memory by carrying forward the mission to which he devoted his life -- with the same passion, resolve and hope for a more just and equitable future.