Houston Service Workers' Clinic Provides Model for Labor-Business Cooperation in Other Cities

In a city where one in three residents live without health care, the unveiling of a new clinic in Houston that will offer low-cost, quality care to over 5,300 of the area's commercial office janitors is an innovative step in the right direction.

The new Houston Service Workers' Clinic isa joint project resulting from a groundbreaking labor-business partnership between SEIU janitors and business and community leaders to make health care more accessible for low-wage workers. Launching in early February 2009, the clinic could also provide a model for other cities also struggling with a growing number of uninsured.

The Houston Business Journal provides a few more details on the clinic:

"The Houston Service Workers Clinic will provide primary health care for service workers at a cost to them of just $20 a month, with their employers kicking in $185 a month per worker to cover 100 percent of the workers' treatment."

Healthcare coverage for $205 a month per worker is a cost equivalent to less than one-third of a penny per square foot of rental space in Houston's downtown buildings (where SEIU janitors work every day). The clinic will be staffed by physicians and other health professionals from Baylor College of Medicine, and Cigna Healthcare will provide insurance coverage for medical care beyond what the clinic will offer.

The unveiling of this clinic comes as thousands of Houston janitors celebrate the anniversary of the 2006 month-long strike that put a human face on the city's healthcare crisis. The agreement reached at the end of the month-long strike increased hourly wages for the janitors represented by SEIU, many of whom had been earning as little as $20 a day without benefits. In addition, the five major cleaning contractors involved agreed to offer their employees longer hours, paid holidays, vacation time and health insurance, starting in 2009.

"Two years ago I stood beside the Mayor and told the world 'Houston won big,'" said Mercedes Herrera, a Houston janitor who helped lead the workers' historic strike. "Today we celebrate another victory for Houston families as we open our health care clinic."

HOUSTON - SEIU janitors and corporate leaders joined together today to unveil the new Houston Service Workers' Clinic, a groundbreaking labor-business partnership that could provide a model for other cities also struggling with the crisis in health care.

The clinic is a joint project between janitors and responsible business and community leaders - including Cigna Health and Baylor College of Medicine - to make health care more accessible for low-wage workers. It will provide quality, affordable care to more than 5,300 commercial office janitors for only $205 a month per worker - less than one-third of a penny per square foot of rental space in downtown buildings.

"This innovative program goes hand-in-hand with the mission of Baylor College of Medicine's Department of Family and Community Medicine to provide patient-centered medical care and serve as a force for promoting health in the community," said Dr. John C. Rogers, interim chair of the department. "This program offers a creative approach to bringing a new group into the ranks of the insured. Our physicians will offer the highest quality primary care and serve as a gateway for specialized care."

Its unveiling comes as thousands of Houston janitors celebrate the anniversary of a month-long strike that put a human face on the city's healthcare crisis.

"Two years ago I stood beside the Mayor and told the world 'Houston won big,'" said Mercedes Herrera, a Houston janitor who helped lead the workers' historic strike. "Today we celebrate another victory for Houston families as we open our health care clinic."

Nearly 46 million Americans don't have health coverage, including one in three Houstonians. As health costs rise year after year, many more Americans risk losing their coverage. Seeking a national solution, SEIU is engaging healthcare workers through Healthcare United, voters through Americans for Health Care, plus business leaders and stakeholders from all walks of life.