It’s a Dirty Job but Sewage ‘Worker’ Is Thankful for It

TOLEDO, Ohio — A sewage treatment plant worker who says his job is so easy that he works only a few minutes a day has taken out ads thanking Toledo.

“Thanks Toledo. For 18 years of generous wages, very liberal working conditions and much more at your sewage plant,” say the $1,311 in ads taken out by James Pieper, 47, a sewage plant operator for 18 years.

“Over the years I’ve had four partners that have slept on a regular basis on the shift,” Pieper said in a newspaper interview after the ads appeared Thursday. “I come in, make a half-hour round, and I still have 7 1/2 hours left to do nothing,” he said. “You can read, you can work on your car in the garage.”

Pieper, who earns $25,471 a year, said he does not fear losing his job for speaking out. “They won’t fire anyone out there for not working,” he said. “Why should they fire me for talking about it?”