Legal Aid workers rally in front of their offices for a new contract
Staff from the Legal Aid Society rallied in front of Brooklyn’s 111 Livingston Street on Wednesday, June 12, during what they called their “nonwork time” in a coordinated effort to picket in front of each of the city’s Legal Aid Society offices––at 260 East 161 Street in the Bronx; 120-46 Queens Boulevard in Kew Gardens, Queens; Manhattan’s 49 Thomas Street; and Staten Island’s 60 Bay Street––and show that they are still fighting for a new labor contract.
Workers included clerical, paralegal, and social work staff. Members of 1199SEIU said they have continued doing their jobs even though their last labor contract expired on June 30, 2022.
In a press release, the union said negotiations with management have only led to a proposal of a “1% raise for fiscal year 2025 for all members with some step increases and a wage reopener.”
The current labor contract is two years old, but Legal Aid management pointed out to the AmNews that 1199SEIU members have been able to get salary increases during this time period. “We have and will continue to advocate for additional resources so we can pay our staff the wages they deserve for their invaluable work,” The Legal Aid Society said in a statement. “We remain in bargaining and will continue to discuss these topics together around the bargaining table.”
The workers picketing in front of Brooklyn’s Legal Aid Society claim the contract that management is pushing is not what the majority of 1199SEIU members want. The current salary system proposal would leave them thousands of dollars behind what other legal service providers earn.
1199SEIU members showed up to picket. They demonstrated and chanted “The workers––united––will never be defeated!” and “I’ll tell you what democracy looks like: This is what democracy looks like!” while circling the front entrance to 111 Livingston Street. “We’re not on strike,” one of the staff members explained. “We first have to determine if we’re on a strike or not, and we didn’t get there yet.”
One speaker at the rally said, “While we fight tirelessly for our clients every day, management is showing us they are not on our side…At the end of the day, we know that they cannot run Legal Aid without us.”
Veronica Leventhal, a social worker with the Legal Aid Society, said one of the items 1199SEIU members want is the opportunity to continue telecommuting for some part of their jobs. Staffers had been providing some legal services to clients remotely for the last three years. Now, office management wants all workers back in the office five days a week. Leventhal said staffers are asking for the ability to work remotely at least two days a week. “We just want a little bit of flexibility, and they’re only offering us maybe one day.
“Management has come to the table, and they’ve been negotiating with us in good faith, but they’ve been very firm with both us and the lawyer’s union that they will not support telecommuting for the most part. They’ll give us maybe one day a week––if management decides that our job is eligible for that one day. But speaking for myself as a social worker, I am in court almost five days a week: I do not have time to come to this office. When I’m not in court, I need to write…I think that’s the point of a hybrid schedule: It’s whatever works for you so that you can get your job done; that’s what we’re asking. And if people are not doing their job, that can be addressed on an individual basis.”
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