Brooklyn Defender Services strike ends after tentative labor deal reached

Brooklyn Defender Services reached a tentative agreement with their union after five days of striking. Eagle file photo by Noah Powelson

By Noah Powelson

The threat of a mass citywide public defender strike wreaking havoc on the city’s courthouses appeared to be averted on Tuesday after striking attorneys reached a deal on a new labor contract with the city’s second-largest public defender group.

Unionized members of Brooklyn Defender Services ended their strike after a tentative agreement for a new labor contract was reached late Tuesday night, both BDS and the Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys – UAW Local 2325 confirmed.

Though details of the deal have yet to be finalized or made public, the agreement brings more than 500 attorneys and legal staffers back to work, five days after they first took to the picket line.

According to the union the tentative agreement includes pay increases for staff, an increase in sick leave, higher retirement contributions and remote work options.

The details of the tentative agreement are expected to be shared with union members over the course of the day on Wednesday, and members will eventually vote to ratify or reject the agreement.

Lisa Schreibersdorf, the executive director of BDS, said that increased legal aid funding from the city’s recent budget enabled the organization to offer salary increases and better health insurance plans during bargaining.

“We are pleased to announce that last night, Brooklyn Defender Services reached a tentative collective bargaining agreement with the BDS Union Chapter of ALAA-UAW Local 2325,” Schreibersdorf said in a statement. “Staff attorneys, social workers, and support personnel will be returning to work this morning. The tentative agreement is pending full ratification by union members.”

The union also appeared pleased with the deal. Brian Holbrook, the vice president for communications for the BDS union, said that the union received many of its key demands.

"We reached an agreement, and it has a lot of amazing gains from our previous contract," Holbrook told the Eagle.

In addition to pay increases, the union said members will no longer have to use a location-tracking app to clock in and out of work, a policy that generated outrage among lawyers and staff last year after BDS leadership first required its use. The new contract also allegedly would bring back remote work options for BDS employees after the policy was eliminated in September of last year.

The union’s strike began on Thursday, July 16, a little more than two weeks after the previous labor agreement between the union and the organization expired.

Pressure against BDS hit a tipping point on Monday after 31 city elected officials, including many from Queens, called on BDS to quickly reach a deal before court disruptions could do lasting damage to indigent New Yorkers in need of legal representation.

BDS and the union bargained for three days straight, from Sunday, July 18, to Tuesday, July 21, before a deal was reached.

“We are excited to get back to work today serving the community,” the BDS union said in a statement. “But we want to be: it should not have taken a strike for BDS management to step up.”

But the threat of court disruptions did not end with BDS’ agreement.

Around 300 unionized attorneys at the Bronx Defenders have threatened to go on strike beginning July 27 if they don’t reach a deal with their employer before then.

Neighborhood Defender Services of Harlem’s union, which includes around 120 attorneys and staffers, has set a strike deadline for July 24.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.