Queens leaders call on public defender group to rehire pro-union staffers
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Members of the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys and local elected officials joined staffers attempting to unionize the organization Queens Defenders. They say two staffers were fired in retaliation for the union drive.
Photo courtesy of ALAA
By Rachel Vick
A group of public defenders and social workers seeking to unionize their nonprofit legal organization got a boost from several local elected officials who joined them for a rally Wednesday.
Staff from the Queens Defenders, an indigent public defense group, have engaged in a monthslong effort to organize their office and say two employees were fired Feb. 8 because of their support for the union.
State Sens. Michael Gianaris and Jessica Ramos, Assemblymembers Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas and Zohran Mamdani, and Councilmembers Brad Lander and Jimmy Van Bramer called on Queens Defenders administration to bring back the two terminated staffers and voluntarily recognize the union.
“We depend on our public defenders to work really hard to protect some of the most marginalized and vulnerable people,” Ramos said. “Now you’re telling me that as an employer the Queens Defenders are somehow not okay with workers, particularly workers of color, to come together to organize,to decide what quality of workplace they deserve and need to keep defending the most vulnerable in Queens?”
Lander, a candidate for city comptroller, said the terminations “prove the need for a union.”
“It's always rotten when bosses union bust but extra galling when a legal service organization does it,” Lander said.
Staff from Queens Defenders announced their drive for union recognition last year, as first reported by the Eagle. They are seeking to join the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys - UAW Local 2325, a union that represents staff from The Legal Aid Society, Bronx Defenders and Neighborhood Defender Services of Harlem.
Queens Defenders leadership decided not to voluntarily recognize the union, instead forcing an election through the National Labor Relations Board.
The two terminated employees and the staff seeking to unionize have the support of all 34,000 ALAA members in the region, said UAW Region 9A Director Beverley Brakeman and local chapter president Lisa Ohta.
“From the moment staff at Queens Defenders announced their intention to join ALAA, Queens Defenders management engaged in blatant and concerted efforts to interfere with their right to organize,” Ohta said. “We will spare no expense and stop at nothing to ensure justice is achieved for these workers.”
The fired employees include forensic social worker Betsy Vasquez and staff attorney Anna Avalone. Each spoke at the virtual rally.
“I have no doubt I was fired for my public support of the union,” Vasquez said. “Despite management knowing I’m reliable, hard working and passionate about the work I was committed to, I was suddenly fired.”
Avalone said she was “berated, intimidated and questioned” about her union activity. “I wholeheartedly believe this was retaliatory firing to instill fear,” she added.
Queens Defenders responded to the rally and allegations of retaliation in a lengthy statement to the Eagle Wednesday.
“Out of respect for the privacy of our former employees, Queens Defenders does not divulge confidential personnel information,” the organization said. “However, we can say for certain that neither the NLRB election nor employees’ opinions about the union played any role in the action taken involving these two employees.”
The organization said it has been “mischaracterized” in recent media reports, including an article on the firings published by New York Focus and the Eagle, and suggested that the fired employees did not meet the demand for “effective, ethical, and high-quality representation and services” for clients.
“Would calls to reinstate these employees be as loud if the rationale for their termination were made public? Should we as managers of this publicly funded organization delay appropriate action and disregard the well-being of our clients because we are engaged in a more than two month-long NLRB election process?” they continued.
“Absolutely not. These terminations were for just cause, and entirely appropriate in view of the conduct of the affected employees.”
