DETROIT – A union representing more than 230 public defenders who provide legal services for low-income residents in Wayne County and two other states went on strike Friday, following stalled contract negotiations with management.
The Neighborhood Defender Service Union (NDSU), a chapter of UAW Local 2325 – Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys, serves clients in Harlem, the Bronx, and San Marcos, Texas, in addition to the Detroit area.
“We [represent] 50% of the people who need court-appointed attorneys...we’re the de facto public defender office here in Wayne County and a bulk of our work is in Detroit,” said Alanna Autler, staff attorney with the Neighborhood Defense Service (NDS). “We’re on strike today because management is refusing to give us a fair contract. They want to take away our existing healthcare plans, and we just won’t stand for that.”
NDSU members, which include everything from staff attorneys and social workers to receptionists and team administrators, represent low-income clients in criminal, family defense, housing, and immigration matters.
More than 80 public defenders are participating in the Detroit strike, which began at 9 a.m. outside the Wayne County Criminal Justice Center on Russell Street. A simultaneous strike is also being held by NDSU members in New York, according to the union.
Union leaders attribute the strike to NDS management’s failure to maintain the long-standing benefit of no-cost health insurance for employees over the term of the pending three-year contract. Members also say the proposed 1% cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) in the contract would result in wage cuts over time due to rising inflation.
“In addition to them wanting to take away our current healthcare plans, they also want to give us meager salary increases with a meager cost of living increase, and we’re just not going to accept that,” Autler said from the picket line. “We’re going to be out here, fighting for what we believe in and what we need in order to survive.”
Autler says the strike will encompass a full work stoppage of public defenders at all three NDS offices in Michigan, New York and Texas, while a limited number of supervisors helping to oversee cases in their absence.
“We don’t want to do this. We care about our clients, we’re in this work because we love this work,” she told Local 4. “But management has brought negotiations to this point, where we have no choice but to strike.”
In a separate action, more than 500 UAW members employed through Brookyn Defender Services (BDS) launched a four-day strike that resulted in a tentative agreement with “historic gains,” giving NDSU members hope that the current strike will resolve with a similar result.
“We’re part of a larger movement and momentum is on our side right now,” said Autler.
Several local officials are expected to rally with NDSU workers in Detroit on Friday, including state Sen. Mary Cavanagh (D-Redford Township), state Rep. Alabas Farhat (D-Dearborn) and others.