Queens Defenders won't recognize staff union, setting up lengthy legal process

A majority of attorneys and social workers at Queens Defenders signed union cards to join the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys, seen here protesting ICE courthouse arrests in 2019. The agency has declined to voluntarily recognize the union. Photo courtesy of ALAA

By David Brand

A Kew Gardens-based public defender agency has declined to voluntarily recognize a new staff union, setting the stage for a potentially drawn out legal process overseen by the National Labor Relations Board.

A majority of eligible attorneys and social workers at the organization Queens Defenders signed union cards Dec. 16 demonstrating their intent to join the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys - UAW Local 232. The roughly 70 staffers called on Queens Defenders management to recognize the union and prevent litigation.

In a statement Wednesday, Queens Defenders said they would not be voluntarily recognizing the union. Instead, the agency said it was “committed to ensuring that each eligible staff member has the option to have their individual voices heard regarding becoming members of the ALAA.”

“We believe the best way for Queens Defenders employees to do that is to vote in a secret ballot election under the supervision of the National Labor Relations Board,” the statement continued.

The indigent defense group, formerly known as Queens Law Associates, was one of a handful of legal organizations that formed in the mid 1990s when the city, under then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, issued contracts to new non-union public defender agencies following a 1994 strike by Legal Aid lawyers.

In addition to Legal Aid, staff at two other public defender organizations —Bronx Defenders and Neighborhood Defender Services of Harlem — have joined ALAA-UAW Local 2325. Bronx Defenders voted to unionize earlier this year.

Staff at New York City’s other two public defender groups — Brooklyn Defenders and New York County Defender Services — have not unionized.

Queens Defenders management said the agency has offered “fair and competitive compensation, comprehensive benefits packages, regular professional development opportunities, workplace flexibility, and an open-door policy where employees can bring their concerns directly to their supervisors and executive management,” since its founding. They noted that they were the first public defender group to transition to remote work when the COVID-19 pandemic became apparent in early March.

But Queens Defenders attorneys and social workers have advocated for more transparency and diversity in hiring and management. They say the union will give them more power in contract negotiations with the agency and the city.

“We’re really a progressive organization that has fully embraced this holistic model of defense practice and unionizing is a natural next step for us,” Queens Defenders social worker Emily Duran told the Eagle last week. 

About 90 percent of eligible workers signed their union cards, Duran said.

ALAA organizer Alexi Shalom criticized Queens Defenders management for resisting the union drive, particularly when workers have organized at three of the other five agencies in New York City.

“While Queens Defenders says they’re interested in making every vote heard through an election, workers have already made their voices heard with 90 percent having signed union cards,” Shalom said. 

“The union-busting effort is antithetical to their mission as a progressive organization which exists to protect the most marginalized people in Queens,” he added.