Meet the workers: Dale Carter

America’s Heartland is in the throws of a deep economic transformation. Nobody understands the changes better than Columbus janitor Dale Carter, a native of Michigan.

“A lot of my family moved from Michigan to Ohio because of the decline in manufacturing,” Dale says. “I moved here too so I could be close to them.”

But in Dale’s case, loyalty to family has come at a steep price. For 25 years in Michigan, Dale was a custodian in the Rochester Community Schools—and a member of a labor union. Dale earned a living wage and had access to quality health care. Now, after a long job search, Dale works as a janitor for Aetna Building Maintenance cleaning Huntington Bank. He longs for the protection of a union contract.

Dale estimates that he cleans about 20,000 square feet of floors in just four hours each and every night. “You better be walking fast, if not running,” Dale says. “And you have to do a good job while you’re at it. It’s very stressful.”

For his hard work, Aetna pays Dale just $7.25 an hour. Between housing, food, and public transportation, Dale finds it hard to make ends meet. “Aetna doesn’t seem to give a hoot about it’s employees,” he says. “It’s a challenge just to pay the rent.”

The challenges don’t end there. Dale’s daughter is studying communications in college, but he is unable to contribute to her education. He would love to buy a home, but he cannot save for a down payment. For health care, Dale relies on the Lower Lights Christian Health Care Clinic and for prescription medicine he relies on doctors’ samples. With last winter’s cold snap, members of his church—Reynoldsburg United Methodist—chipped in to pay for heating bills. Now his church is planning to help him buy a car.

Dale sees an opportunity to give back to others by forming a union with his coworkers. “I think that every worker needs health coverage and so does every family,” he says. “It’s the American Dream. I get excited about it, it’s from the heart.”