Build an Economy That Works for All of Us

This is a part of TCI’s “Collective Agenda for Virginia’s Future.” Click here to start at the beginning.

Together, we can…

First published Nov. 2023; last updated Jan. 2026

We all want a decent job that pays the bills, allows us to save, and leaves room for rest and joy. But today, too many families face an affordability crisis driven by bad policy choices. Bigger and bigger businesses have driven up prices and rents while keeping wages low, leaving essential workers — from farmworkers to nursing home aides — with unlivable wages and no access to basic benefits like paid sick or family leave and affordable child care. At the same time, policies set up almost a century ago to exclude many Black workers from basic protections like the minimum wage are still harming many working people of color today.

Virginia is home to a vast yet untapped people powered sector that persists despite being systemically excluded from major economic incentives and corporate safety net legislation for generations. I know this struggle well because I too, come from those very same scrappy and self determined roots. We represent the heart and soul of what makes Virginia business so diverse and unique. I’m happy to share my own lived experience as a black Woman owned social entrepreneur and community changemaker. I’m stepping up to support this collective work as we develop new pathways for historically marginalized Virginians to level up with a whole new set of strategic power tools developed especially for all those on the front lines of the struggle to make and do.
Free B. | Untold RVA | Richmond

Instead of addressing these real challenges, Trump is stoking division while making everyday costs higher through tariffs, raiding farms and construction sites to deport our neighbors, and selling special favors to his billionaire friends. Meanwhile, big corporations continue to exploit the system — squeezing small businesses, misclassifying workers, and securing special tax breaks — while families pay the price. These choices make it harder for working people to get ahead and for local economies to thrive.

What Can We Do?

We can reject division and take practical steps to create good jobs while making Virginia more affordable. That means investing in what attracts strong employers — good transportation and a well-prepared workforce — while making sure existing jobs provide fair pay and dignity, whether that’s working at Walmart, the Tyson’s plant, or your local public school. By focusing on what works, Virginia can build a more fair, resilient economy that helps families, working people, and small businesses thrive now and in the future.

Advance Commonsense Policies

Invest in today’s and tomorrow’s families by helping more families afford child care while raising wages for child care workers to reduce staff shortages and improve quality of life.
Step up to the plate on housing affordability through a state-level program modeled on the successful — but limited — federal Housing Choice Voucher Program.
Expand access to paid sick leave and paid family and medical leave so no one has to choose between caring for a loved one or putting food on the table.
Level the economic playing field for small businesses by expanding access to affordable health care and credit, while ending unfair tax giveaways for large multinational corporations that try to play our states against each other.

Learn More & Engage

Many organizations, from unions of working people to small minority business alliances, are working to increase economic opportunity for Virginia families. You can learn more about labor unions from AFL-CIO’s intro page (aflcio.org/what-unions-do) and Virginia’s wide-ranging small business alliances include such organizations as the Virginia Hispanic Chamber, the Metropolitan Business League, the Virginia Asian Chamber of Commerce, and many more.