Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission: Powerful State Agency Shrouded in Secrecy | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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The linked article is quite broad in its scope, and is commendable for bringing to the readers' attention a disturbing lack of "transparency" in the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, but the initial focus is on the following bit of shocking information:
"The commissioners had just voted without a single word of public debate to lay off nearly 500 toll collectors and other workers in the largest mass layoff in the agency’s history."
"Only weeks earlier, the commissioners had thrown a lifeline to the employees, approving a new contract amid pledges to keep the workers until 2022 — despite plunging revenues during the pandemic — as the turnpike moved to full automation."
So pity the poor "trolls" whose job it was to collect tolls at the various exits along the Pennsylvania Turnpike. A year or so after their jobs were literally eliminated (tolls are now being collected via "E-Z Pass," which involves no humans), they were shocked to learn that they were being laid off.
Think about that. You were hired to collect tolls at a toll booth. There are no longer any toll booths. Haven't been for almost a full year. Toll collections are down 75% due to reduced traffic.
And you are shocked to learn that you've been laid off? Seriously? What did they suppose was in their future? What have they been doing since the toll booths were taken down? Other than drawing a paycheck, that is.
How's this for an alternative headline: "Turnpike Commission, already carrying a shocking level of debt, continues to pay Toll Collectors $25MM/year for doing nothing."
I guess it's all in how you look at it, eh?
