500 Brooklyn Defender Services Workers Strike for a Fair Contract

The public defender union representing hundreds of attorneys and staff across Brooklyn and Queens walked off the job yesterday after a 21-hour marathon bargaining session this week failed to result in an agreement.

“Despite significant compromises from the union, management refused terms that would ensure our lowest-paid staff can sustain themselves and their families,” Maria Gorman and Andrew Eichen, Brooklyn Defender Services Union co-chairs, wrote in a statement. “BDS prides itself on being an organization that prioritizes those who have the least. But management’s attempts to divide their own staff say differently.”

The BDS Union represents around 500 staff across Brooklyn Defender Services, including about 280 attorneys as well as social workers, investigators, paralegals, and support staff who provide services to Brooklyn and Queens residents in criminal, family, housing, and immigration court.

Show these workers your support by joining the union on their picket lines today (Friday) between 9:45AM and 3PM at 180 Livingston Street and 330 Jay Street in Brooklyn, and at 118-21 Queens Blvd in Queens! Keep up with the union on Instagram for updates, read more about the strike and what workers are fighting for in Gothamist and amNY, and if you're able, please consider contributing to their strike fund here.