Toledo Bans Employees From Reading Newpapers in City Trucks

By: Truck drivers for the city of Toledo won't be able to spend their breaks reading newspapers or magazines in their trucks now that the city has banned them.

The ban on periodicals in city-owned trucks will take effect July 20th. Bill Franklin, director of the Department of Public Services, says officials want to improve residents' pride in their work forces. He says taxpayers might be irritated to see city workers reading, because they don't know when employees are on breaks.

A union official says workers often read the paper during their two 15-minute breaks and half-hour lunch.


For the policy to be fair, he says other city workers shouldn't be able to take newspapers into their offices.