FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Lynda Tran, 713-514-0005 office
202-907-1172 cell
As 5,300 janitors prepare for contract negotiations over health care, wages
New Research Shows Unpaid Medical Care in Harris County Hospitals Topping $2 Billion
Mayor's office, UT public health experts, caregivers, elected and religious leaders discuss impact of health care crisis, role of employers
Houston -- Citing new research showing the cost of unpaid medical care in Harris County hospitals topping $2 billion, Houston's foremost public health experts, elected and religious leaders, janitors, and community organizations are holding a special panel discussion on the health care crisis today at Houston Community College.
The panel, moderated by Elena Marks, Director of Health Policy for the Office of the Mayor, includes discussion about the impact of the city's high number of uninsured on taxpayers, business, and families. With thousands of janitors preparing to negotiate their first-ever city wide union contract over issues including health insurance, janitors have been working with community leaders, organizations, and responsible businesses to find solutions to the health care crisis. Janitors have begun circulating a statement to panelists and other supporters indicating the critical role of employers in helping solve Houston's health care crisis and designating SEIU's Justice for Janitors Campaign as an important first step in providing access to affordable health care for thousands of Houstonians.
"My husband and I work hard to care for our three children, but we don't have enough money to send them to the doctor," says Mirna Blanco, a Houston janitor who earns $5.15 an hour working part-time and has no health insurance. "Janitors want affordable health care for our families because we want peace of mind."
New research by SEIU's Justice for Janitors Campaign shows the cost of uncompensated medical care in Harris County hospitals has reached record levels--more than $2 billion in 2004 alone. Nearly $1 billion in uncompensated care was provided by the county's public hospitals--mainly to uninsured patients--reflecting an 84% increase in the last decade.
"The uninsured receive less preventive and primary care, and more emergency room care for conditions that could be treated in doctor's offices or a clinic-and taxpayers end up footing the bill," says Dr. Charles Begley of the University of Texas Health Science Center of Houston School of Public Health.
Panel participants-including City Councilman Adrian Garcia, Dr. Lovell Jones of UT MD Anderson, and Irene Fuentez, Medical Director of health clinic El Centro Corazón-are also sharing their perspectives on the role of private employers in providing access to health care for workers.
Currently more than one million people in the Houston area are uninsured and another half million are underinsured. Meanwhile, since 1990, 8 in 10 new jobs in Houston have been low-wage, service sector jobs, such as janitorial services, which typically do not provide health insurance for workers.
"Without access to health care through their employers, the only reliable service the uninsured can count on is our emergency rooms--but the hospital district is utterly overwhelmed," says Dr. Guy Clifton, founder and director of Save Our ERs and a professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center of Houston. "Leading corporations in this city should pay their fair share for health care.
More than 5,300 janitors employed by the five largest cleaning contractors in Houston--ABM, OneSource, GCA, Sanitors, and Pritchard--are set to begin contract negotiations in the coming weeks over access to health care, increased wages, and more hours. For more information, visit houstonjanitors.org.