AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond on the passing of Central Labor Council of Nashville and Middle Tennessee President and AFL-CIO Executive Council member Vonda McDaniel:
Today we join the entire labor movement in mourning the loss of a trailblazer and true champion of working people, Vonda McDaniel. As the president of the Central Labor Council (CLC) of Nashville and Middle Tennessee and a vice president of the AFL-CIO, Vonda left an indelible impression on the movement she loved, both in her home state of Tennessee and throughout the entire country. Over the course of her incredible career, Vonda poured her heart and soul into improving workers’ lives and strengthening our movement.
A native Nashvillian, Vonda grew up in the First Baptist Church, Capitol Hill, which was an early center of organizing during the civil rights movement. The church, and the legacy and memory of that movement, helped shape her belief that ordinary people can make extraordinary change. It also informed how she built community support for worker organizing and collective bargaining campaigns. Using the power of the labor and civil rights movements, Vonda was able to create deep alignment between workers and community and, in doing so, created a vital road map to organizing efforts in the South.
Vonda’s career in the labor movement began in 1992 when she became a member of the United Steelworkers (USW) Local 1055. She would eventually serve her fellow members by helping them navigate benefits and services. As president of the CLC, Vonda approached economic development as transformative opportunities to provide good union jobs as well as affordable housing and related benefits for the good of the whole community.
She built coalitions to support worker organizing by engaging rank-and-file members and the broader local community, especially building critical alliances with communities of faith. As a leader with Tennessee for All, Vonda brought about change in her home state, supporting veterans, fighting corporate power and raising wages for workers. Her passion was lifting up community members through life-changing opportunities in apprenticeship programs using the North America’s Building Trades Union (NABTU) Multi-Craft Core Curriculum. Through this work, she altered the trajectory of countless lives. She believed that bringing a multitude of voices together made us stronger and created more possibilities to effect positive change, not just for union members, but for entire communities.
To know Vonda was to love her. A trade unionist to her core, she embodied the values of our movement and was profoundly committed to using the transformative power of organizing to build a brighter future in the South. Throughout her career, Vonda improved the lives of countless workers in Tennessee and around the United States. She was passionate about developing the next generation of labor movement leaders, particularly young people, women and people of color. Her profound commitment and efforts to build, strengthen and diversify our movement leave a lasting legacy and a new generation of workers to carry her legacy forward.
We send our deepest condolences to her family and loved ones.
Contact: Steve Smith, 202-637-5018