Attorneys at New York City’s largest public defender organization reached a tentative contract deal two days before they were set to go on strike.
Legal Aid Society lawyers planned to walk off the job Friday. Union members authorized a strike in late June as the attorneys pushed for better pay, more manageable caseloads and more flexibility to work from home. They reached a tentative agreement with the organization Wednesday afternoon.
Jane Fox, chair of the Legal Aid Society attorneys’ union, said in a statement that the tentative agreement includes new workload protections, a student loan fund, 20 weeks of parental leave and retiree health benefits. She said the deal does not meet the union’s hopes for salaries and pensions but the union will have the chance to renegotiate pay next year.
“After hundreds of hours of bargaining, and 30 tentative agreements that raise the industry standards for what it means to work in legal services, we are proud to present this contract to our members to vote on,” Fox said.
She said union members still have to vote on whether to approve the proposed contract.
Twyla Carter, attorney-in-chief and CEO of the Legal Aid Society, said the agreement would allow staff attorneys “to continue serving low-income New Yorkers — on a wide range of legal matters — without interruption.”
“While today’s development represents meaningful progress, we know that ensuring fair compensation and lasting support for our mission will require sustained investment from both Albany and City Hall,” she said in a statement. “We look forward to partnering with ALAA [union] as a united front in the fight to secure the resources that both honor the vital contributions of our staff attorneys and support the long-term sustainability of a career at Legal Aid.”
A strike would have sent about 1,100 attorneys out of courtrooms and onto the picket lines, potentially disrupting cases in criminal, housing, immigration and family courts across the city. The Legal Aid Society is the city’s largest provider of legal representation for low-income New Yorkers and has not gone on strike since 1994.
Deanna Logan, director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, said in a statement that Mayor Eric Adams’ administration has committed “significant new funding” to support the work of the Legal Aid Society.
“We were thrilled to hear the union came to a tentative agreement with our provider, charting a path forward that will help avoid any disruption to our justice system,” she said.
Attorneys at several smaller legal services organizations also authorized strikes this summer, and more than 750 lawyers had walked off the job as of last Friday. Many of those attorneys have since returned to work after reaching tentative agreements with management, including Bronx Defenders and the New York Legal Assistance Group. About 200 legal services workers are still on strike.
Juval Scott, executive director of the nonprofit Bronx Defenders, said Bronx residents deserve high-quality representation by fairly paid staff.
“As public defenders, this work is more than a profession — it is a calling,” she said in a statement. “And valuing the work of those who serve that calling is imperative if we are to continue to meet our obligation to zealously represent the people and families of the Bronx. But we must never abandon the people we serve, and it is in this spirit that both sides reached resolution.”
