Bronx public defense attorneys were back on the job Friday after reaching a tentative agreement with their management late Thursday night, marking the end of their 11-day strike and nearly a month of labor turmoil gripping the city’s courts.
The Bronx Defenders Services union and its management say the agreement increased salaries across all staff positions, includes expanded leave and student loan support for workers. It also provides a 3% cost of living raise each year — a hard-fought union priority that members said was critical to gaining a final agreement.
To reach that deal, however, the union made what they called two major compromises: Giving up a heavily used benefit that allowed workers to access certain free education classes and, most significantly, untethering attorney salaries from social worker salaries. That means salary increases for one group no longer will necessarily mean salary increases for the other.
“It is so deeply disappointing to all of us,” Abhi Hu, a Bronx Defenders criminal defense attorney, told amNewYork, about agreeing to untether salaries. “We had made impassioned pleas and provided testimonials about the ways social workers had shown up for our clients that are so separate and different from what any attorney can do. It is a big hurt to our union and a tragic loss that we had to concede this issue.”
It’s left some members of the union with “mixed feelings” about the tentative agreement, Hu said: they’re “relieved” to be back at work for their clients, but there was “an air of disappointment” as they’d been hoping to make bigger gains, particularly after agreeing to untether the social worker and attorney salaries.
Bronx Defenders Executive Director Juval Scott said in a statement that she was “thrilled” the two sides came to an agreement and looked forward to welcoming the union back to work.
“We needed a contract that would raise compensation across every staff role and strengthen our ability to recruit and retain excellent attorneys, social workers, investigators, advocates, and support staff,” Scott said. “This contract does just that. These investments will strengthen the shared purpose that brought us all to The Bronx Defenders: standing beside individuals and families across the Bronx when they need us most.”
The parties had to engage an independent mediator to reach a final agreement.
Labor peace among public defenders across NYC
The Bronx Defenders Union strike was the final in a chain of public defender walkouts this summer after contract negotiations over pay and healthcare broke down at firms across the boroughs. Between the Brooklyn Defender Services, which struck from July 16 to July 21, Harlem’s Neighborhood Defender Services, which struck from July 24 to Aug. 3 and the Bronx Defenders, nearly one thousand public defenders walked off the job over the past few weeks.
That left tens of thousands of clients – all of whom had turned to public defenders because they couldn’t afford other legal counsel – without the same degree of reliable representation they were used to, striking attorneys said.
The state’s court system consistently said that all courts remained operational, and management at all firms told amNewYork all clients were still receiving “unparalleled” legal representation and support services, as the firm was “fully operational” as management stepped in to handle striking attorneys’ cases.
Hundreds of striking Bronx Defender Services public defense attorneys and legal professionals picket outside Bronx Hall of Justice Tuesday, where they represent hundreds of clients daily.Photo by Isabella Gallo
The unions painted a bit of a different picture, saying they believed their clients were getting subpar representation because there weren’t enough supervisors for it to be “humanely possible” for them physically handle all of the cases at the same level those on strike could: There are about 50-60 supervisors, the union said, and nearly 180 attorneys, many of whom handle between 50 and 100 cases.
Unions said supervisors weren’t doing “substantive” work on cases and were typically attempting to adjourn cases out until the striking attorneys were back on the job, something legal experts agreed could create a backlog in the court and slow things down.
“Substantive work is not being done on cases,” Bronx Defenders criminal defense attorney Conrad Blackburn told amNewYork earlier this week. “And, if a case is in a trial posture and a trial should be starting soon, that could cause a delay in the trial. If there’s an issue with a client’s detention status, and an argument needs to be made about why the client should be released, that could be delayed.”
Supervisors’ plans to fill in didn’t always work out so well. On Monday, amNewYork saw a Neighborhood Defender Services client show up to Manhattan Supreme Court, only to be told by a court officer that her attorney was on strike so her case would be pushed back (no one from Neighborhood Defender Services was in the courtroom).
Bronx Defenders attorneys and staff form a picket outside of their South Bronx office.Photo by Emily Swanson
And, the Bronx Defenders Union said that earlier this week, an immigration attorney was essentially forced to cross the picket line by management, as if she didn’t appear in court, her client could have been deported, a situation attorneys accuse their management of manufacturing.
Bronx Defenders management maintained that no client they represent went without representation during the strike.
Both sides said they’re glad everyone’s back on the job now. Attorneys had previously told amNewYork it pained them to be away from their clients for days on end.
The Bronx Defenders’ tentative agreement will now go to the full union’s membership for a vote. A simple majority of votes will ratify the contract.