Bronx Defenders staff join the picket line

Union members at Bronx Defenders went on strike on Monday after their labor contract expired on June 30. Screenshot via BxD Union/Instagram

By Noah Powelson

The labor fight at several public defender organizations continued over the weekend after a third group of unionized attorneys went on strike on Monday, bringing the total number of lawyers and legal staff on the picket line back up to 500.

Workers at Bronx Defenders went on strike Monday morning after working nearly a month without a labor contract. The Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys – UAW Local 2325 union chapter includes over 300 attorneys and staff who represent low-income New Yorkers with their criminal, civil, family and immigration cases.

The BxD union said it was demanding pay increases across the board for attorney and non-attorney staff that matches the growing cost of living in the city. Their labor contract had originally expired on June 30, alongside four other ALAA-backed public defender organizations’ unions.

“We’ve spent months bringing reasonable proposals to the table that management has rejected with little to no explanation,” Michael Gradess, a bargaining committee member at the BxD union, said in a statement. “The union has stood firm in its demands that this organization remains a vanguard for zealous public defense, but management's position is to fundamentally change our long-standing identity.”

BxD management confirmed the strike is underway.

“Attorneys, social workers, investigators, interpreters, benefits specialists, advocates, and support staff all make holistic defense possible, and all deserve to be paid more than they are today,” Juval Scott, the executive director of The Bronx Defenders, said in a statement. “We agree with unionized staff on that fundamental principle. Where we differ is on how to use the limited funding available to us fairly and responsibly at this moment.”

Scott said management last offered the BxD union salary increases ranging from three percent to 10 percent for first year staff, and higher increases for staff who have been with the company for five or more years.

“We have returned to the bargaining table whenever asked and remain available to continue negotiating,” Scott said. “Although the union did not accept our package, we will continue working toward an agreement that honors our staff, strengthens holistic defense, and protects the quality of representation the people of the Bronx deserve.”

With a strike called, the BxD union joined the over 100 unionized attorneys, social workers and support staff that were already on strike at Neighborhood Defender Services of Harlem. Union members at NDS walked off the job on Friday, July 24 after they were also unable to reach an agreement with management since their contract expired on June 30.

NDS and BxD are the second and third public defender organizations to have their union strike called a strike in July.

The union that represents over 500 staff at Brooklyn Defender Services called a strike that lasted for five days before a tentative agreement was reached.