by Christin Brown | June 5, 2020 | News Releases
Letter signed by 17 Senators Calls for Immediate Hearings
Harrisburg, June 5, 2020 − Senator John Sabatina (D-Philadelphia) implored Governor Wolf to suspend the termination of 700 Pennsylvania employees until public hearings can be held on the clandestine decision by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC).
“It is absurd that we would send 700 more Pennsylvanians to the unemployment line during this crisis,” Sabatina said, who serves as the Democratic Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. “We agreed these loyal state employees would be retained until the end of 2021, when the Turnpike would go cashless.”
Sabatina wasn’t alone in his dismay. Senator Tartaglione, Democratic Chair of the Labor Committee, also questioned the decision.
“This sudden decision to terminate 700 hardworking Turnpike employees violates the agreement we had in place and comes at a time when the Commonwealth should be doing everything it can to curtail the loss of jobs,” said Senator Tartaglione, the Democratic Chair of the Senate Labor and Industry Committee. “We must insist that all stakeholders have their say in a public forum as part of any decision-making process of this magnitude.”
In all, 17 Senators are calling for the hearings before the June 18th termination date. The letter was sent to Governor Wolf on Friday.
You can read Senator Sabatina’s letter here:
The Honorable Governor Tom Wolf
Office of the Governor
508 Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg, PA 17120
June 5, 2020
Re: Suspend Elimination of Toll Collector Positions
Dear Governor Wolf:
We are deeply disturbed at the stealthy manner in which the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission voted to eliminate over 700 toll collector jobs this week.
Prior to Tuesday June 2nd, all parties understood that under the original agreement, the PTC promised to employ these Pennsylvanians until the exits went completely cashless at the end of 2021. During this timeframe, the remaining toll collectors would be able to apply for existing positions within the Commission, help get placed in appropriate Commonwealth vacancies, or receive a tuition credit to help receive new job training. To our knowledge, none of the above terms of the agreement have been met.
Also prior to June 2nd, we believed that we had an open and transparent relationship with the PTC. On May 12, 2020, during a Senate Transportation Committee Hearing regarding Turnpike finances, the opportunity presented itself for the PTC to discuss potential layoffs. Despite questions raised by Senate members on the future of the toll workers, no meaningful discussion on this topic was advanced by any member of the PTC.
We, therefore, believe that it is necessary to conduct an informational hearing to determine the fundamental reasons behind the PTC’s failure to abide by the original agreement regarding termination as well as its failure to notify, inform and discuss this matter with the Legislature. We understand the financial difficulties placed upon the Turnpike, however, it is blatantly unconscionable to mislead employees into thinking that their jobs were somewhat secure for the next year and a half, while knowing that these loyal employees really had less than a month to find another job in the midst of a pandemic.
These people have families that depend on them to provide necessities during this extremely difficult time and adding 700 Pennsylvanians to the unemployment rolls will not benefit the Commonwealth.
We respectfully request that this decision to layoff 700 toll collectors on June 18, 2021 be suspended until it can be established with certainty through an informational hearing that there is not some reasonable alternative that allows the PTC to keep its original promise to its faithful employees.
Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter and we await your prompt response.
Sincerely,
Senator John P. Sabatina, Jr. Chairman, Transportation Committee
Senator Jay Costa 43rd Senatorial District
Senator Anthony Williams 8th Senatorial District
Senator Tina Tartaglione 2nd Senatorial District
Senator John Blake 22nd Senatorial District
Senator Vincent Hughes 7th Senatorial District
Senator Judy Schwank 11th Senatorial District
Senator Lisa Boscola 18th Senatorial District
Senator James Brewster 45th Senatorial District
Senator Wayne Fontana 42nd Senatorial District
Senator Timothy Kearney 26th Senatorial District
Senator Andrew Dinniman 19th Senatorial District
Senator Lindsey Williams 38th Senatorial District
Senator Maria Collett 12th Senatorial District
Senator Pam Iovino 37th Senatorial District
Senator Katie Muth 44th Senatorial District
Senator Larry Farnese 1st Senatorial District
by Christin Brown | April 12, 2013 | News Releases
HARRISBURG – April 12, 2013 — Bad news continues to pile up for Pennsylvania workers, while the state’s economic leaders look to South America for answers, state Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione said today.
Figures released by the U.S. Department of Labor this week show Pennsylvania with the sharpest rise in new unemployment claims, while claims for the nation as a whole fell sharply.
“We need serious leadership and commitment right here at home,” Tartaglione said. “We continue to fall behind the rest of the country in job creation while leading in unemployment claims and the answer isn’t going to be found thousands of miles from the cities, towns and schools that need help. We have the ability, right here, to create a 21st century economy.”
New unemployment claims jumped by more than 3,000 in March, according the the Department of Labor. U.S. unemployment claims dropped by more than 300,000.
The news comes on top of reports that Pennsylvania has had a higher unemployment rate than the rest of the country for six consecutive months, after having a better jobless number for nearly four years.
“The last two years have been a disaster in terms of where we stand among states in our ability to create jobs and participate in the national recovery,” Tartaglione said. “Simple solutions, like investment in transportation infrastructure, schools and tax reform are collecting dust while administration officials and hand-picked friends are collecting souvenirs. It’s unthinkable.”
In a conference call with reporters Tuesday, administration officials announced that a South American company will create 74 jobs in Central Pennsylvania.
“That probably didn’t go over very well with the 3,000 people who just filed for unemployment,” Tartaglione said.
by Christin Brown | October 21, 2011 | News Releases
In response to the unemployment figures released by the state Department of Labor and Industry, Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione released the following statement. Tartaglione, D-Philadelphia, is the Democratic Chair of the Senate Labor and Industry Committee.
“Nearly four months after Republicans pushed through a short-sighted state budget that slashed key funds for job creation and economic development, today’s news of a rising unemployment rate is a clear sign that Pennsylvania needs bold leadership in a new direction.
“The number of unemployed Pennsylvanians has jumped by more than 50,000 since the day Gov. Corbett signed the budget and the legislative majority’s focus on fringe issues and right-wing ideology offers little hope for the coming months.
“The Corbett budget cut more than $1 billion from education programs, reducing local school district employment by more than 14,000 jobs, with more than 2,000 lost jobs in the Philadelphia School District alone. These deep cuts were made while ignoring a state revenue surplus that grew to nearly $800 million by the close of our last fiscal year.
“The result is a stunning downturn after years of weathering the recession better than most states. When that budget was making its way through the General Assembly, Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was 1.7 percentage points below the national average, the best comparison to the national average in more than ten years. Today, that gap has been cut in half, and it’s narrowing.
“Pennsylvania ranked 12th for new job creation in 2010. Today’s announcement means we are moving backward.
“The downturn of our state economy should come as no surprise. Last February, I joined my Senate Democratic colleagues to introduce a sensible job creation plan call PA Works, most of which is still sitting in committee.
“Last week, I voiced support for PA Works Now, our plan to put more Pennsylvanians back to work. We repeated our earlier calls for new investment in infrastructure, job training, and business investments that have clear records of success. The plan outlined a new set of tax credits to encourage small-business owners to make child and elder care available to their employees and to provide new training and internship opportunities for young people.
“My legislation in the package calls for Marcellus Shale drillers to directly invest in training to hire more Pennsylvania workers and create a call center for emergency services that could provide employment for the nearly 15 percent of workers with disabilities who cannot find a job.
“Lawmakers who are distracted by personal priorities and politically-motivated policies that are part of the national Republican political agenda should set aside these hobbies and focus on jobs. Lawmakers intent on eliminating thousands of jobs in our state liquor system should be sobered by today’s announcement and understand that every family sustaining job should have our support and protection.
It is long past time to implement a responsible tax on Marcellus Shale drilling. Also, a reasonable funding plan for transportation investment should be acted without delay. Finally, our priorities must be redirected from risky tax giveaways that reward campaign friends and shifted back to supporting our children, our environment, our schools and our neighbors. ”
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