diff --git a/clustercheck b/clustercheck
index 7098a14..dd29d75 100755
--- a/clustercheck
+++ b/clustercheck
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ if [ -f /etc/sysconfig/clustercheck ]; then
         . /etc/sysconfig/clustercheck
 fi
 
-MYSQL_USERNAME="${MYSQL_USERNAME:=-clustercheckuser}"
+MYSQL_USERNAME="${MYSQL_USERNAME:=clustercheckuser}"
 MYSQL_PASSWORD="${MYSQL_PASSWORD-clustercheckpassword!}"
 AVAILABLE_WHEN_DONOR=${AVAILABLE_WHEN_DONOR:-0}
 ERR_FILE="${ERR_FILE:-/dev/null}"