A striking janitor in Houston writes:
The pain in my chest started in mid-January, just two months after I had been filled with so much hope. My co-workers and I had just formed a union for the over 5,000 of us who work as janitors in downtown office buildings and we were looking forward to winning our first improvements at work in years.
I thought the pain in my arm, back and breast was from my work hauling trash, vacuuming floors and scrubbing toilets. When I finally saw a doctor she said I needed to get to the hospital right away. I was rushed to the emergency room, but they would not attend to me because I do not have health insurance.
When I told my two daughters I had breast cancer, they started to cry and told me they didn't want me to die. I told them not to worry, God will help us. I promised them I will live to see them graduate from college.
I still don't have health insurance today. After months of negotiations, the cleaning companies we work for and their clients, the rich building owners of Houston, are refusing to offer even a small raise to janitors like me who make $5.25 an hour. They are refusing to provide health insurance or more hours of work. Even worse, some of my co-workers who have spoken up for a better life have been fired, and others were intimidated and threatened.
That's why we are on strike. We are not willing to accept that the American Dream does not apply to Houston.
Fuck the American Dream, I'm unwilling to accept that we don't provide health care to mothers with breast cancer.
