Hundreds of attorneys and legal advocates rallied at Foley Square in front of the New York County Supreme Court Tuesday morning to demand greater city funding for free legal services and call on management at various nonprofit legal organizations to offer higher pay.As various employment contracts expire, over 2,000 legal service workers could go on strike as early as this week — about 400 started striking Tuesday at Goddard Riverside Law Project, Urban Justice Center, CAMBA, and New York Legal Assistance Group.Several local union chapters, including the Legal Aid Society, Center for Appellate Litigation, Appellate Advocates, the Office of the Appellate Defender, and Bronx Defenders, saw their contracts expire at the beginning of the month.
The union at Legal Aid, the Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys – United Auto Workers Local 2325, includes over 1,000 attorneys and notified management last week that it will terminate its collective bargaining agreement on Friday if a contract is not met.Union members and striking legal workers were joined Tuesday by Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani (D-Queens), the Democratic nominee for mayor, and state Attorney General Letitia James, a former Legal Aid employee and member of ALAA - UAW 2325. The UAW was the first major union to endorse Mamdani in his primary campaign for mayor.
[caption id="attachment_137781255" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani joined Tuesday's rally.Photo by Shea Vance[/captio.