Trina Anderson

On Tuesday night, the "One Touch Make Ready" ordinance is set for its final vote. Many on our Metro Council seem blinded by their enthusiasm for the Google brand and their confidence that Google builds on Nashville's "It City" reputation.

Those of us who have built homes and careers in Nashville know that our quality of life is not based brands or labels. We chose Nashville for the opportunity we saw. As a woman and an African American, I am grateful that our city presents more opportunity today than ever before. I am also mindful that, not so long ago, there were few places where women and minorities could hope to build a career and work our way into the middle class.

The proposed "One Touch" ordinance forces AT&T to abandon its long history of using union-represented employees for work on AT&T lines. Those union jobs have played an important part in providing opportunity for Nashvillians like me. I started my career at AT&T in 1997 in a union-represented position. Today I am a sales coach, in a management position.

Especially for African American women, career opportunities can be limited and union representation can help pave the path to the middle class. It's no surprise that African Americans lead the way in union representation, with more members than any other ethnicity. These good-paying union jobs are offering minority women tremendous professional opportunities and even better lives.

That kind of opportunity means so much more than any brand or label. Our Metro Council members should think about the role of AT&T's Union-represented employees in building - and broadening - Nashville's middle class.

I hope our Council members will remember people like me as they are tempted to jump on the Google-brand bandwagon. I want our "it city" to continue to be a place where businesses offer good pay and promising careers to our increasingly diverse community. Without that, all the brands and labels won't mean much opportunity.

Trina (Hatch) Anderson has worked for AT&T for 19 years in both union and management positions.