Labor issues flare up at org that absorbed Queens Defenders
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Brooklyn Defender Services union members picketed outside their offices on Thursday afternoon, protesting upcoming policy changes that would end hybrid work and require employees to use a location tracking application. Eagle photo by Noah Powelson
By Noah Powelson
Attorneys at Brooklyn Defender Services, the legal services group that absorbed Queens Defenders’ criminal practice last month, picketed their employer on Thursday over a recent change in employment policy.
Attorneys and staff at Brooklyn Defenders Services held a picket demonstration on Thursday after new policy changes were announced that would end work from home schedules and require employees install location tracking applications on their devices. The union representing BDS, which officially took over QD’s criminal defense practice in July, claims that the organization’s executive director, Lisa Schreibersdorf, violated labor law by implementing the policy without negotiating with the union.
Starting September 2, all BDS workers, including those in its newly opened Queens office, will be required to work in the office five days a week. Previously, staff could work at home two days a week with flexible scheduling. A BDS spokesperson said some staff may be able to work on a four-day office schedule depending on their position and seniority.
To enforce the new work from office policy, BDS staff will also be required to install an application on their devices they use to clock in and out of work. The application accesses the device’s location and requires workers to be physically present in the office to clock out. BDS employees were reportedly informed of the policy changes last June.
“While the new requirements may be inconvenient for some employees, in balance, we feel this change is reasonable and reflects the trends across industries, particularly the legal profession,” BDS spokesperson said in a statement. “By providing three months’ notice and starting the new in-person requirements at the beginning of the school year, BDS made its best efforts to allow staff time to make arrangements for their children and otherwise prepare for the changes.”
Brooklyn Defender Services union members demanded BDS Executive Director Lisa Schreibersdorf reverse a policy that would end hybrid work for staff during a picket on Thursday. Eagle photo by Noah Powelson
The BDS union issued sharp criticism of the decision on Thursday, saying Schreibersdorf did not discuss the changes with the union beforehand and argued the policies created an unneeded burden on BDS staff. Investigative staff who travel throughout the city to interview individuals and collect evidence are disproportionately targeted by the policy, the union said, since they face higher than average commute costs.
The union also said the location tracking policy displayed management’s distrust of staff that was antithetical to BDS’ values against using surveillance to encroach on civil liberties. While BDS said the location tracking application would only be used to clock employees in and out of their shift, union members expressed concerns for their own privacy and the security of their devices by allowing an application that level of access.
“In the past months, Ms. Schreibersdorf has announced a series of unilateral changes to how we do our work,” Andrew Eichen, president of the BDS union, said in a statement. “Management responded only today about our requests to meet, offering superficial reasons for the policy changes, including ‘professionalism’ and ‘congeniality.’ Many of us view location-tracking bossware as directly in conflict with the work we do. We've already had one resignation as a result of these plans. I know more will follow.”
Eichen said the union is preparing to file grievances, but they are also looking to address the matter with Schreibersdorf before it escalates. Union representatives have confirmed an in-person meeting with Schreibersdorf and union members to discuss these issues has been scheduled for next week.
The situation is made even messier and confusing with BDS’ absorption of QD staff who, according to union representatives, are being subject to inequitable treatment by BDS management. While the policy goes into effect Sept. 2, BDS staff in Queens have already been required to work in the office five days a week with location tracking for clocking in and out for months.
The policy was implemented when QD’s disgraced former executive director Lori Zeno was in control, and has continued even following Zeno’s arrest by federal authorities and the dissolution of QD’s criminal practice. Union representatives say that even though former QD staff are under the BDS’ union contract, they are still being subjected to the terms of their previous contract under QD.
Following the leadership transition, former QD staff are reportedly left in a disorganized hierarchy without consistent enforcement of their labor contract. Eichen told the Eagle on Thursday that it’s been difficult to get a clear picture of the labor conditions of former QD staff, and whether they are being paid what their labor contract requires. Eichen told the Eagle he was aware of at least one Queens BDS staffer who was being paid $40,000 a year, about $19,000 less than their contract requires.
“It has been really uncanny because we have not heard too much,” Eichen told the Eagle. “We did see there were instances of people being paid far below what they should have been paid…I have heard from people in Queens that they are being told by their supervisors the old rules still apply.”
“They are being treated basically as two different offices although that is not the case under our [collective bargaining agreement],” Eichen added.
No former QD staff picketed outside BDS offices on Thursday.
Following the BDS absorption of QD, most former QD staff were hired on a probationary period for the first six months like any new hire. Under the probation, former QD staff are at significantly higher risk of being fired, and union representatives said many didn’t want to risk losing their jobs over the picket on Thursday.
