{"id":278,"date":"2014-09-17T22:44:00","date_gmt":"2014-09-17T22:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2014\/09\/nice-work-if-you-can-get-it.html"},"modified":"2015-03-01T22:15:35","modified_gmt":"2015-03-02T04:15:35","slug":"nice-work-if-you-can-get-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2014\/09\/nice-work-if-you-can-get-it.html","title":{"rendered":"Nice work, if you can get it!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Here\u2019s an article from the local Daily Herald<\/a>, on the new contract for the toll collectors in Illinois.<\/p>\n

SEIU represents 569 workers, mostly toll collectors as well as janitors.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The union ratified the tentative agreement Sept. 12, which allows for raises of 3 percent in 2015, and 2.5 percent in 2016 and 2017. The average salary is $48,000.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In what world do toll collectors merit $48,000 per year, for sitting in a toll booth and collecting coins all day? \u00a0For that matter, back when Illinois transitioned to mostly open-road tolling, the toll collectors\u2019 union was demanding that no jobs be lost due to the transition, so maybe these workers aren\u2019t even sitting in toll booths, but just marking time until retirement age.<\/p>\n

Is it possible that the average pay is really for all tollway employees, including professionals? \u00a0I went to the tollway website<\/a> to see what I could find out, without any success, except that there was a nice set of reports on their affirmative action goals, in which you can read about the fact that, although they hire a more-than-proportionate number of black employees, they\u2019re heavily concentrated in the lower ranks.<\/p>\n

But then \u2014 bingo! \u2014 here it is, a listing of the salaries <\/a>of all toll collectors. \u00a0This is astonishing \u2014 the higher paid toll collectors earn $60,000 a year, most at least $40K. \u00a0Please<\/i> correct me if I\u2019m missing some level of skill or responsibility.<\/p>\n

And this is a really interesting site, because you can view the pay of all state employees. \u00a0Toll collectors earn more than \u201cMotor Vehicle Cashiers,\u201d<\/a> for instance (though it\u2019s not possible to do the math in any accurate way because they don\u2019t distinguish between full- and part-time and mid-year hires).<\/p>\n

Oooh, I just clicked another link: \u00a0you can also view average pay by job classification<\/a>. \u00a0Accountants make, on average, $51,000. \u00a0Electricians $80,000. \u00a0Janitors $50,000. \u00a0Secretary $33,000. \u00a0The listing is endless, and one wonders how many of these occupations are paid at a market rate, and how many benefit from powerful unions.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, seasonal toll collectors, hired for just the summer and early fall, are paid only $10 per hour, according to this news report<\/a>. \u00a0Perhaps this is simply an extreme example of the two-tier workforce in action?<\/p>\n

So, wow \u2014 Your Government At Work, as they say. \u00a0And, yes, if we could leave Illinois without it being a major disruption to our family, we would.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s an article from the local Daily Herald, on the new contract for the toll collectors in Illinois. SEIU represents 569 workers, mostly toll collectors as well as janitors. The union ratified the tentative agreement Sept. 12, which allows for raises of 3 percent in 2015, and 2.5 percent in 2016 and 2017. The average […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2209,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[210,211],"class_list":["post-278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-seiu","tag-toll-collectors"],"yoast_head":"\nNice work, if you can get it!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Here's an article from the local Daily Herald, on the new contract for the toll collectors in Illinois. 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