Vonda McDaniel
Vonda McDaniel, president of the Central Labor Council of Nashville and Middle Tennessee, died on June 30. The CLC announced the news Thursday, commemorating McDaniel’s decades of work in labor movements across Middle Tennessee.
McDaniel became president of the Nashville CLC, an affiliation of more than 40 unions and community organizations, in 2013. Her career in labor organizing began in 1992, when she joined a union at the Firestone-Bridgestone tire factory in La Vergne and became the shop steward. Over the next 30-plus years, she went on to become a vice president for the AFL-CIO’s executive council and got involved with Nashville community groups like Music City Construction Careers and Stand Up Nashville.
“Vonda is remembered as a visionary leader and bridge builder who spent her life bringing together people from all areas of the community to build multi-racial working class power,” reads the Nashville CLC’s announcement of her death. “She believed deeply that unions were for everyone and was committed to making life better for working families in Tennessee and the South. Vonda embodied the courage of the labor movement’s history, while embracing innovation and moving us forward. She saw the potential in rank-and-file union members, young people, and people who didn’t even know they were part of the labor movement yet. She empowered them to learn how to organize and take action.”
In a Scene article from 2021, a fellow labor leader credited McDaniel with helping unions collaborate across different trades and industry. She was a key player in efforts to establish community benefits agreements in new Nashville developments.
McDaniel was planning to retire from the CLC at the end of 2026. In February she had been appointed a co-executive director of The Highlander Research and Education Center — a historic institution dedicated to training social justice leadership.
Local and national organizations have issued statements remarking on McDaniel’s legacy in the movement.
“To know Vonda was to love her,” writes the AFL-CIO.
“Her leadership, compassion, and unwavering commitment to solidarity leave a lasting legacy that will continue to inspire union activists for generations,” reads a statement from the United Steel Workers.
Metro Councilmember Sandra Sepulveda shared a statement calling McDaniel "the very best of us."
Rachel Campbell, chair of the Tennessee Democratic Party, also released a statement calling McDaniel “a leader, an advocate, but most of all our friend."
“Ms. Vonda showed us the way," says Campbell, "and we honor her by doubling down to deliver for working people.”
