Officials from the union representing workers at the postal distribution facility in Bellmawr, NJ were in U.S. District Court in Camden, NJ yesterday seeking an injunction that would close the plant until tests can prove that anthrax has been eliminated from the building.
At deadline, Thomas Woodford, president of the South Jersey Area American Postal Workers could not be reached for comment.
According to news reports the union decided to go to court after a government-hired contractor cleaned the wrong machine Tuesday. Cleanup crews worked on a different unit instead of the computer screen of a barcode sorting device that had been found to be contaminated with anthrax spores.
“The workers there and their families are very hesitant to go anywhere or do anything” until they can be sure the building is safe, he said.
The Bellmawr facility reopened last Sunday after being closed the day before when FBI tests detected the spores on the computer screen.
Last week, two million pieces of standard A mail were stranded for a day at the mail after an employee was suspected of coming down with anthrax. First class mail was shipped out that day. The facility processes a total of 5 million pieces of mail per day (DIRECT Newsline, Nov. 1).
While it was seeking the injunction, the union told its members to apply for appropriate leave or time off. Woodford warned postal officials not to consider these requests an illegal work stoppage.
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