Profile: Martha Gonzalez
 |
| Martha Gonzalez |
Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport is the ninth-busiest in the United States, handling more than 600,000 flights and 40 million passengers per year. It's Houston's first chance to make a good impression on business travelers, conventioneers and tourists. And the first place they visit after a long plane flight is the restroom. Keeping them clean despite heavy use is Martha Gonzalez's job.
At Houston Airport's Building Services Department, Martha stoops behind stalls, scrubs under urinals, and pushes heavy floor cleaners to keep Houston's biggest airport spotless. She's noticed that some people could stand to aim a little better during their restroom visits.
Martha walks about five miles a night through the long terminals, despite diabetes and a thyroid condition. Because the City of Houston recently eliminated a shift, Martha now works from 3 p.m. to 2:30 a.m., long after city buses stop running.
While Martha drives, many of her co-workers depend on public transit and must wait hours after their shift end until buses start running again. Many building services employees work a second job. The average salary is about $10 per hour.