USW Mourns Loss of Tennessee Activist and Leader Vonda McDaniel

Contact: Chelsey Engel, 412-212-8173, [email protected]

(Pittsburgh) — The United Steelworkers mourns the loss of Vonda McDaniel, a tireless union activist whose life was dedicated to lifting up working people. A proud member of USW Local 1055L, Vonda began her union journey as a shop steward at the Bridgestone-Firestone plant before becoming a leader in the USW’s Women of Steel program and later serving as president of the Central Labor Council of Nashville and Middle Tennessee and as an AFL-CIO vice president.

Throughout her career, she championed workers’ rights, racial and economic justice, and the belief that the labor movement is strongest when it stands together across communities. Her leadership, compassion, and unwavering commitment to solidarity leave a lasting legacy that will continue to inspire union activists for generations.

The USW represents 850,000 men and women employed in metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply, and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of workers in health care, public sector, higher education, tech, and service occupations.

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