on november 24, 2004, the day before thanksgiving, 2,000 teamsters union employees went on strike, after contract negotiations failed. this was the first strike in the history of the roadway. as this is usually one of the busiest traffic days in the united states, to avoid traffic jams, tolls were waived for the rest of the day. starting on november 25, turnpike management personnel collected flat-rate passenger tolls of $2 and commercial tolls of $15 from cash customers on the ticketed system, while e-zpass customers were charged the lesser of the actual toll or the same flat rates. the strike ended after seven days when both sides reached an agreement on november 30, 2004. normal toll collection resumed december 1, 2004. the strike occurred one day after the beginning of e-zpass tolls at clarks summit and keyser avenue.