diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index cbd484415..9785aa2e2 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@ jobs:
         image: mysql:5.7
         env:
           MYSQL_DATABASE: datacite
-          MYSQL_USER: root
           MYSQL_ALLOW_EMPTY_PASSWORD: "yes"
         ports:
           - 3306