Out of Control

Position: Window Washer

Job Description: This is specialized window washing work. Employees are responsible for performing window washing tasks that require the use of special height reaching equipment and attention to special safety precautions and guidelines.

Salary: $40,424

Interested jobseekers can apply via the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.

Flashback: WaPo’s June 2005 “Off the Rails” series

From the article “Metro Spending Often Veers From Core Transit Mission”:

Even as Metro officials complain that tight finances are crippling their ability to run the Washington area's subways and buses, they continue to pour millions into programs that have little to do with transporting passengers.

The agency spent close to $40 million for a massive training and maintenance facility that five years after the purchase is overbudget and underused. Millions more are needed to finish renovations.

When senior agency attorneys wanted two new window offices and a 1,440-square-foot law library, Metro spent $270,000 to accommodate them.

Metro paid more than $400,000 for a "culture change" project to teach managers to operate less like bureaucrats and more like business executives, an experiment officials now say was a bust. And the agency's inability to control overtime has led to $100,000-plus salaries for numerous mechanics, bus drivers and train operators.

Twice in the past two years, Metro Chief Executive Richard A. White has asked riders to pay higher fares, saying he had trimmed his budget to the core and his only choice was to charge more or cut service. In February, he told Congress that lack of funds had forced him to defer maintenance, spend less on customer service and cut back on cleaning the stations.

Thanks to Patrick from ADC for the job listing tip.