The union representing over 300 attorneys and staff at The Bronx Defenders has declined a recent pay offer, highlighting ongoing tensions surrounding the organization’s salary structure. The executive director of the legal aid organization, Juval O. Scott, announced that the union turned down a proposal that would see social workers start at $90,000, alongside an average salary increase of about 6% overall. This offer aimed to realign salaries with those in similar roles across the New York City area, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
However, the union insists on maintaining a unified pay scale for attorneys and social workers, arguing that separate scales create unnecessary division. Jessica Coffrin-St. Julien, an immigration attorney with Bronx Defenders, emphasized that although their counterproposals include differentials for attorneys, they still advocate for a single salary scale due to the organization’s holistic defense model. According to her, management’s portrayal of this issue as a zero-sum game does not reflect the union’s perspective.
The Bronx Defenders union is striking alongside the Neighborhood Defender Services of Harlem union, which initiated its strike on July 24. Meanwhile, a related union action by the Brooklyn Defender Services union has concluded with a tentative agreement, shedding light on the broader labor unrest across New York City’s public defender offices.
This wave of strikes is orchestrated under the umbrella of the Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys, affiliated with the United Auto Workers. This association represents over 3,500 legal services workers in the metropolitan area, reflecting the widespread impact and significance of the labor movement within the sector.
For the organization, the challenge remains finding a balance between competitive compensation for attorneys and fair pay for social workers. Discontent has grown over attorney compensation failing to keep pace with comparable legal work. As negotiations continue, both sides aim to reconcile these financial disputes to ensure they retain vital personnel and maintain the quality of their public defense services.