María González

Houston janitor María González needs a doctor now.

“I feel tingling and numbness in my fingers,” María says. “And I have to go to the bathroom all the time.” While this may not sound like an emergency, María’s health is in danger.

Last year María went to a free clinic for a check-up. She was diagnosed with pre-diabetes, a condition that occurs when blood glucose levels are high, but not high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes. Many people with pre-diabetes develop diabetes within 10 years. 

María has at least five diabetes risk factors: she’s 40 years old, she’s overweight, she’s Hispanic, she has high cholesterol, and, perhaps most importantly, she’s poor.

María’s symptoms are consistent with diabetic neuropathy, a form of nerve pain or nerve damage that is a complication of the disease. Nerve damage can begin even before a person is diagnosed with diabetes. The condition is serious—a little tingling can lead to major problems with digesting, walking, and working. Amputation—of a toe, foot, or lower leg—is 10 times more likely for diabetics.

María should be seeing medical professionals regularly. Every three to six months she should see a doctor to check her blood pressure, examine her feet for signs of deterioration, and have a hemoglobin A1C test. She should also see a dentist every six months to check for gum problems. And every year she should see an optometrist to check for signs of diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma, which could result in blindness if untreated.

But María cannot see a doctor because her employer, Professional Janitorial Services, denies its workers health care. 

“I don’t have insurance,” María says. “And at $8 an hour, I can’t afford to pay for a doctor’s appointment myself.” 

María knows her budget backwards and forwards. $730 for rent, $270 for electric, $55 for water, $280 for food, $80 for transportation--$0 at the end of the month for doctor visits.

María and her coworkers, who clean the corporate offices of the Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, are trying to form a union with the Service Employees International Union. Working through SEIU, Houston janitors have built the Houston Service Workers Clinic, which provides primary and preventive care to janitors at a cost of just $20 a month to janitors and $185 a month to employers—a fraction of the cost of traditional health care plans.

If Anadarko’s web site is any indication, the company—one of the largest independent oil companies in the world—should support the janitors’ effort. Company materials emphasize “the world’s health and welfare,” “public health and our communities,” and “high standards for health, safety, and the environment.” Anadarko pledges to “honor our promises and obligations to work, family, faith, and community,” and to “place the success of others above our own.” 

These sacred promises should give hope to María, the janitor who cleans 260 Anadarko offices each night, the janitor who needs a doctor.