Bronx Defender Services and Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem on Strike

Union members at The Bronx Defenders and Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem are on strike as they fight for fair contracts. The unions represent about 300 and 120 workers respectively, including attorneys, social workers, investigators, advocates, and support staff who provide legal representation to low-income New Yorkers facing criminal, family defense, housing, and immigration matters. Workers are seeking fair wages, cost of living increases, affordable healthcare, and other improvements necessary to recruit and retain the experienced staff their clients depend on. Their strikes follow last week's tentative agreement between Brooklyn Defender Services Union and management after a five-day strike. Workers in both units are members of UAW Local 2325.

“We’ve been told that no amount of withholding our labor, no amount of striking is going to change their minds, so we’re here to prove that that’s wrong," said Michael Gradess, an immigration practice administrator at The Bronx Defenders. We hope that they will actually call us back to the table because it’s their turn."

Follow @NDSunion and @BXDunion on Instagram for the latest updates including upcoming picket times and locations, and read more in The City Reporter, amNY, and The Chief.