Nashville labor leader Vonda McDaniel dies at 60

McDaniel served as president of the Central Labor Council, a federation of more than 40 unions representing over 20,000 people, since 2013.

• McDaniel was known for a collaborative approach without sacrificing her pro-worker ideals.
• "She was a true giant in this city," Juvenile Court Clerk Lonnell Matthews tells Axios. "The perfect combination of compassion, determination, grit, dependability and inspiration. Her physical presence will be missed. Her legacy will live on forever."

McDaniel's work put her at the center of advocating for working-class people on everything from living wages to ensuring unions had a seat at the table on major economic development projects.

• McDaniel's advocacy coincided with the conservative state government passing laws that curbed the influence of labor unions.
• McDaniel joined the United Rubber Workers in 1992 at the Bridgestone-Firestone Lavergne Plant, where she worked for more than 30 years.
• In announcing the surprising news of her death, the Central Labor Council shared a quote attributed to McDaniel: "Even when the deck is stacked beyond all odds, the strength in numbers that unions provide lifts up entire communities."

As a demonstration of her standing in the community, McDaniel was asked to serve on an array of boards and civic organizations. She was a founding member of progressive advocacy group Stand Up Nashville, the Nashville Justice League, Music City Construction Careers and Tennessee for All. McDaniel was also a board member for the Convention Center Authority, which oversees the Music City Center.

• She was known for championing young and minority leaders.

• She was also a member of the First Baptist Church Capitol Hill.
• "Vonda leaves behind an expansive community of freedom fighters who will carry on her legacy," the Central Labor Council said in a social media post. McDaniel was set to retire from leadership at the labor council later this year and begin her work as co-executive director of the Highlander Center, a social justice training organization.

In addition to her union work, McDaniel was frequently sought as an adviser to political strategists and politicians. That put her in the middle of the most consequential issues facing Nashville.

• "Vonda was a bridge builder," Will Pinkston, who worked on labor issues, tells Axios. "She built bridges between old and young, Black and white, business and labor. Being pro-labor and pro-civil rights goes hand in hand, and Vonda demonstrated that."
• The cause of death was not immediately released. Details about the memorial service to honor McDaniel's life are forthcoming.