- David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee.
Income inequality and inclusive prosperity are phrases which have been used to border inequities amongst folks of differing socio-economic segments.
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these points and showcased the significance of frontline important workers to promote meals, ship items to folks and construct properties.
Vonda McDaniel, president of the Central Labor Council of Nashville and Middle Tennessee, spoke to me about these points on this episode of the Tennessee Voices podcast.
She mentioned the scenario of Tennessee having one of many highest charges of low-wage workers in America.
We talked about advantages for workers, the minimal wage (a $15 proposal was stripped out of the COVID-19 relief proposal in Congress) and the trouble by lawmakers to enshrine the state’s right-to-work policies within the Tennessee Constitution.
She additionally shared her ideas on the dialog about racial justice and elaborated on a section in her latest visitor column the place she described the great relationship between her grandfather, who was Black, and a white neighbor in rural Alabama.
McDaniel has been studying quite a bit together with, “The Women Who Made New York” by Julie Scelfo and we spoke in regards to the legacy of leaders together with Frances Perkins, who was first girl confirmed as a U.S. Cabinet secretary, serving as President Franklin Roosevelt’s secretary of labor within the early twentieth century.
Op-Ed by Vonda McDaniel:Look to unions on how to heal America’s racial wounds
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About Tennessee Voices
The Tennessee Voices videocast is a 20-minute program, which began in March 2020 and invitations leaders, thinkers and innovators who’ve written visitor columns for a USA TODAY Network Tennessee publication to share their insights and knowledge with me and our viewers.
Please electronic mail your concepts for future visitors to me at dplazas@tennessean.com. Thank you for watching.
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Watch previous episodes: Tennessee Voices videocast
David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee and an editorial board member of The Tennessean. Tweet to him at @davidplazas.
