diff --git a/babel.spec b/babel.spec
index a7b2637..14b202a 100644
--- a/babel.spec
+++ b/babel.spec
@@ -128,6 +128,7 @@ rm -f "$BUILDDIR/html/.buildinfo"
 %endif
 
 %check
+export TZ=America/New_York
 %{__python2} setup.py test
 %{__python3} setup.py test
 
@@ -158,6 +159,7 @@ rm -f "$BUILDDIR/html/.buildinfo"
 - use %%python_provide macro only if present
 - update remove-pytz-version patch
 - fix build dependencies
+- set TZ in %%check
 
 * Wed Feb 03 2016 Fedora Release Engineering <releng@fedoraproject.org> - 1.3-12
 - Rebuilt for https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Fedora_24_Mass_Rebuild