NEW BEDFORD – Patchy air conditioning and concerns about air quality at the New Bedford District Court have led to calls to shut down the court during repairs.
Citing “numerous continuing unsafe working conditions,” the court staff union sent a letter to the Massachusetts court on August 15 demanding its closure and threatening legal action.
David J. Holway, president of the National Association of Government Employees, said: “I am writing to you on behalf of our members to again request that this facility be closed until all repairs are completed and the building is safe for our members.”
The Massachusetts Trial Court responded that repairs were progressing and that there were currently no plans for closure.
The building at 75 N. 6th Street was built in 1981.
According to NAGE, system repairs are carried out in the evenings and at night.
Holway said court staff have reached out to us with health and safety concerns to such an extent that “we may be compelled to take legal action on this matter.”
According to the union, the problem has been going on for many years but “reached its peak” earlier this summer when the air conditioning failed during a heat wave and employees were forced to work in a building that was over 38 degrees Celsius.
Conditions are said to be worse than described
“In addition to a deteriorating courthouse and a multitude of visible health and safety issues, the court was forced to close late this morning to protect staff and the public,” NAGE said in a press release.
Holway said he visited the building on August 5 and found conditions worse than those described by court staff.
Holway said court administrator Thomas Ambrosino said repairs were being made. Holway said that was “commendable.”
However, the “missing component” was a commitment to close the courthouse so that extensive repairs could be carried out quickly to avoid disruption to the workplace, Holway said in his letter.
Repairs are carried out sporadically
He said the court had rejected this and that repairs would be carried out “piecemeal” in the evenings or overnight.
He said workers had to be withdrawn from certain areas of the building, particularly the basement, because the repair work had had a negative impact.
Currently no plans to close the courthouse
Court spokeswoman Erika Gully-Santiago said Ambrosino responded to Holway’s letter and would continue to communicate with him on the matter.
Gully-Santiago added that there are currently no plans to close the courthouse during repairs.
She said the courthouse had been closed early on hot days due to problems with the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system.
Decisions about whether and how early to close the New Bedford District Court will be made by the court of first instance administrator and the district court leadership, she said.
Progress in system repair
Gully-Santiago said that in some cases, jury trials in district courts have been moved to Bristol County Superior Court in New Bedford.
She said the courthouse is Bristol County property, but the Courthouse Department is working to repair the courthouse’s heating, ventilation and plumbing systems, as well as conducting a thorough cleaning of the courthouse.
She said progress had been made and work was ongoing.
The court had commissioned cooling air cooling devices on August 10 and was now working to make them even more effective for temporarily cooling the building, she added.
