A DIVIDED CITY

A walk down the streets of Houston would impress most visitors. The beautifully appointed offices of some of the most powerful corporations in the USA could not fail to impress, but behind the facade of opulence lurks the poverty of many of their employees. Janitor Alice McAfee got a standing ovation when she spoke to the NAACP convention in Houston about her plight and that of over 3,000 fellow janitors in the city. "The Houston janitors are currently paid an hourly wage of $8.35 and earn an average of $8,684 annually, despite cleaning the offices of some of the largest and most powerful corporations in the world—Chevron, ExxonMobil, Wells Fargo, Shell Oil, JPMorgan Chase and others in the "City of Millionaires." They are asking building owners and cleaning contractors for a raise to $10 an hour over the next three years; the counter offer is a $0.50 pay raise phased in over five years, virtually guaranteeing that the janitors continue to live in poverty." (The Nation, 13 July) Houston may well be called the City of Millionaires but it is also the city of paupers. RD