District Council 37's Local 1070 protests unsafe, unhealthy working conditions at NYS Supreme Court—60 Centre St.

Calls 60 Centre St. building a "House of Horrors."
Tells Office of Court Administration to "Clean Up the Mess!"

District Council 37's Local 1070, representing Court, County and Dept. of Probation Employees, held a "Clean Up the Mess" rally today outside the NYS Supreme Court building at 60 Centre St. in lower Manhattan. Carrying picket signs calling the building a "House of Horrors," they demanded that the office of Court Administration eliminate unsafe, unhealthy working conditions at the courthouse.

"State safety and health inspectors have found numerous violations in the building," said Local 1070 President Clifford Koppelman. "Last year, they ordered the Office of Court Administration to clean up the hazards or face huge fines. Yet here we are, a year later, and the unsafe, unhealthy conditions still exist. Nobody should have to endure these types of hazards at work. OCA needs to clean up the mess so New York taxpayer dollars are not wasted on needless fines."

Hazards at the court building include:

• Poorly wired countertops that shock workers who touch them.
• Trip hazards from wiring on the floors.
• No emergency lights, broken exit signs, blocked exits, lack of fire prevention training and other fire safety hazards.
• Potential biohazards from accumulated pigeon droppings on window ledges and standing water where mosquitoes can breed.
• Inadequate ventilation, and high EMF levels in one location.
• Lack of asbestos testing of crumbling cement and tile adhesive.

"DC 37 members in Local 1070 have filed grievances, sat down in labor-management meetings, registered their complaints with court administration and even participated in walk-through inspections with high-level OCA officials," said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts. "They have done the right thing to alert management to these hazards. Now it's time OCA acted to clean them up."

District Council 37 represents 121,000 city employees and 50,000 retirees.
Local 1070 represents 2,100 Court, County and Dept. of Probation Employees.