Maribel Ross

Through the Houston Service Workers Clinic, janitor Maribel Ross gets the medical care she needs.

Maribel works for national cleaning contractor ABM cleaning the offices at 1 Allen Center, a skyscraper in downtown Houston. In 2006, Houston janitors went on strike for good jobs with healthcare. The strike resulted in the creation of the janitors’ clinic, which provides primary healthcare at a cost of just $185 a month to employers and $20 a month to employees.

For the first time, Maribel has access to quality affordable healthcare.

“Our clinic is wonderful,” says Maribel. “It’s very different than going to a big hospital. The staff understands the janitors, our lives, our needs. It’s very personal.”

The clinic offers mental health services, which is critical for janitors trying to get by on just $7.75 an hour.

“With the economy the way it is right now for workers, there’s a lot of pressure,” says Maribel. “Add family pressures on top of that and it just gets to be too much.”

A lifelong sufferer from bipolar disorder, Maribel worries the pressure will trigger her condition.

“I’m starting group therapy at the clinic,” she says. “Hopefully, by sharing my experiences with other janitors and with a medical professional, I can stay healthy and happy.”

 Mental illness and the economy are not Maribel’s only worries. “While getting a routine checkup at the clinic,” Maribel says, “They found a little blood in the urine sample. But at least I know that I can get treatment.”

Knowing that there are 1.3 million uninsured in Houston, and one in four Houstonians report trouble buying groceries to feed their families, Maribel is standing with her fellow janitors to win good jobs with healthcare.