Brooklyn Defender Services union overwhelmingly approves new labor contract

Union members of  Brooklyn Defender Services vote to ratify a new labor contract by 99 percent. Eagle file photo by Noah Powelson

By Noah Powelson

The labor fight over a new labor contract at Brooklyn Defender Services is over, for now.

Unionized members of BDS voted to ratify the temporary agreement their bargaining committee reached with management into a collective bargaining agreement. The vote put to bed a long contentious bargaining season that saw over 500 attorneys and support staff picket outside their Queens and Brooklyn offices for months before eventually entering a five day strike.

Included in the final contract are pay increases for all staff, an increase in sick leave and higher retirement contributions, according to the union.

The union, which is represented by the Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys – UAW Local 2325, said 99.5 percent of their members voted to ratify the contract.

The contract is effective for the next three years.

“The Brooklyn Defender Services Union celebrates the ratification of a collective bargaining agreement that secures major gains in compensation and workplace rights for hundreds of outstanding public defenders across Brooklyn and Queens,” a spokesperson for the BDS union said in a statement. “Our new contract raises salaries, protects us from health insurance cost increases, codifies new protections against layoffs, and secures remote work benefits for the large majority of members.”

“This victory was only possible because legal assistants, social workers, attorneys, paralegals, and other workers stood united during a strike that won this groundbreaking deal,” the spokesperson added.

BDS did not respond to the Eagle’s request for comment on Monday.

The labor contract BDS previously had with their union originally expired on June 30, alongside four union chapters at other public defender organizations.

BDS union members went on strike on July 16, the first time in the relatively nascent union’s history. They were on strike for five days, before eventually announcing that they reached a temporary agreement with BDS management on July 21.

While they were not on the picket line at the same time, the ALAA chapters at Bronx Defenders and Neighborhood Defenders also called their own strikes in July.

Tensions between management and the BDS union had been escalating for months beforehand.

In Sept. 2025, BDS announced they were ending their remote work policy, requiring staff to work in the office five days a week and to use an application with location tracking to clock-in and out of work.

The policy change sparked outrage from union leaders who staged several picket demonstrations outside their Brooklyn office.

A few weeks after the policy change, a union whistleblower came forward and publicly accused BDS executive director Lisa Schriebersdorf of attempting to recruit them into an illegal union busting scheme. Schriebersdorf allegedly offered the whistleblower better benefits and a lighter caseload if they successfully created a rival union that would decertify the current ALAA chapter at BDS.

The controversy sparked further protests, the involvement of several city elected officials as well as the union filing unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board against BDS and Schriebersdorf.

The now ratified contract between BDS and its union also includes remote work policy options, according to the union.