With no contract settlement in place, members of the Neighborhood Defender Service Union (NDSU) officially went on strike on July 24.
Union members came out in force, picketing in front of the entrance to the NDSU office throughout most of the day and are expected to resume on July 27, unless some weekend discussions take place to resolve the contract issues.
Union members told the Amsterdam News that bargaining with management went on for 12 hours on July 23 – from noon until 12 a.m. –– but no settlement was reached.
Among the elected officials who came out to support striking workers were Democratic Congressional Candidate Claire Valdez and New York State Attorney General Letitia James.
James recalled having been on strike herself, in the 1990s, when she worked as a legal aid attorney.
“So it’s important that all of you understand that I stand with the union each and every day,” she told the striking workers, “I believe in union power. I recognize the reason why we’ve got a middle class is because of unions. And that’s why we are out here – because you stand up each and every day fighting for the least amongst us, fighting for those who really need you when the odds are against them. And I know that you would not be out here but for a righteous cause and this is a righteous cause.”
James noted that the striking legal aid workers are often the ones who take on cases involving immigrants who are facing deportation: “We need you guys back to work and they need to hear it because today thousands of immigrants will be deported as a result of the end of TPS. Thirty thousand Haitians today face the end of TPS, and Syrian individuals. We need you now because when you walk into a courtroom, they know that they’re going to have a fight on their hands.”
Democratic Congressional Candidate Claire Valdez told the union members, “What UAW is demonstrating, what you all are demonstrating every single day is that this fight is not just about your shop. It is about every single worker in New York City. It is about every member of the working class who is trying to eke out a life here in this beautiful city. It’s being told over and over again by bad bosses that they don’t deserve that.
“You are holding the line, not just for yourselves and your coworkers, but the entire working class of New York City. I’m going to be here with you every step of the way.”
In response to questions about the contract negotiations, Piyali Basak, managing director of NDS Harlem and Shannon M. Anglero, NDS’s deputy executive director, sent the following statement to the Amsterdam News: “Neighborhood Defender Service has spent nearly four months negotiating in good faith with the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys, reaching tentative agreements on major provisions like dental care, mental health funds, hiring commitments for system-impacted individuals, and technology policies.
“We’re committed to reaching an agreement that offers quality healthcare, increased salaries, and that ensures our financial stability so that we can continue to offer the best representation possible to our clients,” she continued. “Should a temporary work stoppage occur, NDS has comprehensive contingency plans in place to ensure client representation does not stop. Our managing attorneys and supervisors are prepared to continue serving our clients, and our emergency contact lines will remain fully operational to protect our clients’ rights.”
New York Amsterdam News Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Elinor R. Tatum sits on the board of Neighborhood Defender Service.
NDSU represents public defenders and legal staff at offices in Harlem and the Bronx in New York, Detroit and Wayne County in Michigan, and San Marcos, Texas. Nationally, the union members are part of ALAA-UAW Local 2325, which also includes the Brooklyn Defender Services, the Bronx Defenders, Legal Aid Society of New York City, New York Legal Assistance Group, Urban Justice Center, CAMBA Legal Services, Center for Appellate Litigation, Office of the Appellate Defender, and other nonprofit legal organizations.
Members of the Brooklyn Defender Services began their strike July 16 after its union failed to reach a new contract with management; BDS has said supervisors and managers would cover cases during the work stoppage.
The Harlem NDS union’s contract expired on June 30. That day, members marched and picketed outside their offices –– they were joined by newly elected congressional candidates Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier. Avila Chevalier is an NDS investigator and NDSU member and had also been identified as part of the unit whose contract expired.
Bhaskar said the union has spent nearly 80 hours in bargaining sessions and is still willing to continue negotiating. “We have been in bargaining since April, and we’ve had over, I think, 17 or 18 days of bargaining, and we’ve spent over 80 hours in bargaining sessions. Our core demands throughout that whole process have been consistent and the same, which is that we want a guarantee of our current health care plan.”
According to the union, management’s latest proposal does not guarantee the no-cost healthcare plan for the life of a three-year contract. The union also says management has proposed a tiered retiree healthcare structure under which current retirees would keep post-retirement benefits, while current employees who retire in the future would lose them. On wages, the union says management has proposed only a 1% cost-of-living adjustment over the entire three-year term.
Management has previously said it was working to determine next steps in the event of a strike and remained in search of a bargaining-table solution. In a June report by City & State New York, management said: “We respect our employees’ legally protected right to peacefully express their views.” The same report said management contended it could no longer afford the current premium- and deductible-free healthcare plan because of rising healthcare costs.
The union argues that the explanation doesn’t match the organization’s finances. It points to almost $2 million in extra unrestricted funds it received in the New York City budget that ended on June 30. Union members say those funds should be used to support the workers in Harlem, Washington Heights, Inwood, the Bronx, Detroit, Wayne County, and San Marcos.
