BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The air conditioning system broke down Tuesday morning at the Erie County Holding Center, now union workers say employees are working in unsafe conditions, according a news release from Teamsters Local 264.
The union that represents employees in the jail says they don't know when the units will be repaired, but some were told it could take up to two weeks to be fixed. Adding to the issue, the union says windows are all shut because of security issues, meaning there is no airflow inside the building.
The Sheriff's office says that since the air conditioning broke on Tuesday, fans have been brought in to cool off the area of the old part of the building where there is no air.
Sheriff Tim Howard tells 2 On Your Side the hottest area in the building is the superintendent's office, but he says they aren't complaining. He calls the workers who are upset with conditions right now a "spoiled workforce."
"we've got people that exaggerate their problems and forget what it's like ...and it's not any hotter there than here," says Sheriff Howard.
The break comes in the middle of an intense heat wave all across Western New York, with much of the area under an Excessive Heat Warning because of the high heat and humidity.
Union spokesperson Tom Dziedzic says that deputies have been forced to work 16 hour shifts in the heat.
The union contends that the temperatures were higher than 100 degrees inside the facility Wednesday, and it puts inmates and employees at risk for injury and illness.