Among the thousands directly affected by the attacks were members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) who worked at or near the World Trade Center and the Pentagon as janitors, porters, security guards, public employees, building engineers, emergency medical technicians, and firefighters.

Sixty-two members died. Roko Camaj, a 60-year-old Albanian immigrant from Yugoslavia who was cleaning windows at the World Trade Center on the day of the attacks, often told his children that working up so high he felt he could touch the sky. Esmerlin Salcedo, a 36-year-old World Trade Center security officer from the Dominican Republic and a father of four, rushed back into the WTC to save others and didn't make it out himself.

Of the members who survived, 6,000 lost their jobs and faced uncertain financial futures for months.

In the days and weeks that followed the tragedy, several recounted their stories -- how they escaped the buildings, how they helped others to safety, and how they struggle with grief, emotional difficulties, and financial hardship.