SALISBURY — To begin the conversation on creating family-friendly workplaces, workers’ rights advocates shared their stories and answered questions about what a work environment should be like during a town hall meeting at City Hall on Thursday night.

Panelists included storytellers Gloria Gray and Amanda Thompson; Beverly Kerr, board chairwoman of Giver of Destiny and project evaluator of One Love Community Program; Ana Pardo, policy advocate of the Workers’ Rights Project; Beth Messersmith, senior campaign director of MomsRising Together; and Corey Hill, president of the local UAW.

Salisbury Mayor Al Heggins moderated the discussion, asking the panelists questions such as what a good job looks like; who is being left behind by the lack of family-friendly policies; and how employees can win the fight for family-friendly workplaces.

Pardo looks at the 1970s as a time when there was the highest rate of unionization and appropriate tax rates. Someone could work a minimum-wage job as a waitress or factory worker and still go on vacation, she said.

“We know what a good job is, and most of us are not getting it right now,” Pardo said.

Hill said it was a time when middle-class families could pay their bills and take their kids to the doctor. He said Henry Ford wanted his workers to be able to purchase the company’s products, and now waitresses can’t afford to eat in the restaurants they work in.

Gray spoke about a workplace experience when she starting to feel really bad. Her workplace was infested with mold, and she had to be out sick on and off for a month. She brought the problem to the attention of her employer and human resources office. They did nothing and threatened to fire her, she said.

Kerr spoke of workplaces where pregnant women lost their jobs after 13 years at the company. She worked at places where equipment was not repaired. They were sad situations, Kerr said.

Heggins chimed in to say it is illegal to fire someone for being pregnant but it is hard to prove that was the reason.

Thompson pulled from her experience as a teacher with a disabled child. She makes too much to qualify for Medicaid but her kid’s medication costs are $4,000 a month. Though she is paying taxes to support the program, she can’t take advantage of it. She said it’s a cycle of poverty.

The system undermines the American dream, she said.

Messersmith said a good job is where the employer understands that employees are not just workers. Someone can be a good employee and a good family member, she said.

Heggins questioned the panelists: Who is being left behind by the lack of family-friendly policies?

Pardo said everyone is vulnerable, and many don’t have a safety net. The more vulnerable they are the less likely they are to speak up and the more likely they are being taken advantage of, she said.

Answering the question directly, Pardo said: “Women, especially women of color, are being left out.”

Messersmith said there have been some wins on the state level, including Gov. Roy Cooper’s executive order to provide paid parental leave for state employees that benefited 100,000 people.

“We are winning,” she said. “We are building a movement, thanks to you all.”

Messersmith said local governments can lead by example by setting a minimum wage of $15 an hour and providing paid family leave.

Heggins said when a city puts in those policies, it sets a precedent for industries interested in investing or expanding in a community.

The group of panelists and participants agreed that people can create a family-friendly workplace by standing up, taking a risk, voting and unionizing.

Pardo said many people think unions are illegal, but they are not. Both she and Hill encouraged workers to join one.

Heggins said she would like to continue the discussion and bring more people in next time.