Thank you to the Progressive Caucus of the New York City Council and Councilmember Ben Kallos for supporting our union and our MFJ shop by sending a powerful letter to the Mobilization for Justice Board and executive leadership. MFJ’s relationship with the Jones Day law firm (“Trump’s favorite law firm”) is hypocritical and indefensible. MFJ: […]
LSNYC management and the Legal Services Staff Association union have been negotiating through the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure the safety of staff, clients, and our families. This flyer summarizes some of the key provisions we have negotiated to keep those coming to LSNYC offices as safe as possible.
12/23/2020 The Legal Services Staff Association and Legal Services NYC have reached agreement on a volunteer pilot project for out-of-home work assignments. The union’s Volunteer Pilot Project graphic at right summarizes the main provisions of the agreement. The full text of the agreement is as follows: —————————————————- Out-of-Home Work Assignments: Interim Pilot Collaboration (12/23/20-1/31/21) Extended to […]
12/18/2020 The Legal Services Staff Association and Legal Services NYC have reached agreement on office screening procedures for staff, clients, and other visitors. The text of the agreement is as follows: —————————————————- Office Screening Procedures for Staff, Clients and Other Visitors (12/18/2020) Management is currently developing a procedure and mechanism to pre-screen anyone (staff and […]
The below letter was sent on November 30, 2020 via email to Tiffany Liston, Esq., MFJ Interim Executive Director, and the MFJ Board of Directors. Click here to download a pdf. RE: MOBILIZATION FOR JUSTICE’S RELATIONSHIP WITH JONES DAY The staff union of Mobilization for Justice, Inc. (“MFJ”), part of the Legal Services […]
Law students seeking legal fellowships at LSNYC should be aware of potential miscategorization of their employment. Our union has repeatedly found LSNYC to incorrectly categorize legal fellows as temporary employees rather than permanent employees. This has happened in particular to legal fellows on payroll at the LSNYC Central office. Under section 3.1 of the LSNYC […]
11/16/2020 The Legal Services Staff Association and Legal Services NYC have reached agreement on a Covid sick leave policy and a contract tracing policy. The text of the agreements are as follows: —————————————————- Covid Sick Leave Policy (11/16/2020) For staff who have Covid: covered by Covid Sick Leave during the time they are actually ill. […]
The following testimony was submitted to the New York State Assembly Standing Committee on Judiciary for their November 12, 2020 hearing examining the impact of proposed budget cuts on the court system in New York. November 12, 2020 ASSEMBLY STANDING COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY Public Hearing: Budget and Staffing Reductions in the Judiciary Branch My […]
November 2020 The Legal Services Staff Association represents 468 union members at Legal Services NYC (LSNYC). In August 2020 we surveyed our members to learn more about how COVID has impacted themselves and their families, and about their concerns regarding COVID and the workplace. Of our 468 LSNYC union members, 364 responded to our survey, […]
10/23/2020 The Legal Services Staff Association and Legal Services NYC have reached agreement on a bargaining process for issues related to Covid health and safety. The text of the agreement is as follows: —————————————————- Childcare, Eldercare, and Transportation Supports for In-Person Appearances and Virtual Proceedings (10/23/2020) This section describes childcare, eldercare, and transportation reimbursements. Until […]
(September 25, 2020, NEW YORK, NY) – New York State’s leading labor unions – including the United Federation of Teachers; Hotel Trades Council; District Council 37; 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East; Communication Workers of America, District 1; New York State Nurses Association; United Auto Workers Region 9A; Association of Legal Aid Attorneys – UAW […]
Testimony of Ayla Trinidad, LSSA 2320 Vice President, to the New York City Council’s Committee on Housing & Buildings and the Committee on Justice System’s September 17, 2020 joint oversight hearing regarding the potential eviction crisis in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic My name is Ayla Trinidad, I am an Investigator Process Server with […]
September 2, 2020 The union’s Covid committee puts forward the following proposal regarding court appearances and other out-of-home work obligations, in response to LSNYC management’s proposal of age- and health-related exemptions. For over 50 years, our organization and our union members have been dedicated to challenging systemic injustices that our clients face. To protect ourselves, […]
LSSA Union President Sonja Shield testified before the New York State Senate’s Judiciary, Codes and Housing, Construction and Community Development Committees’ August 21, 2020 Joint Public Hearing on the Unified Court System and COVID-19. Watch here: The below testimony was submitted to the New York State Senate’s Judiciary, Codes and Housing, Construction and Community Development […]
LSNYC members will be meeting to discuss and vote on the package of contract changes on Thursday July 23rd beginning at 10am. A meeting link and secure individualized voting links will be sent to your personal email. If you did not receive it, please email the administrator at: lssa at lssa2320.org. You can review the […]
July 9, 2020 For immediate release The unions representing attorneys and legal workers providing civil legal services to New York City’s low-income residents condemn the Office of Court Administration’s (OCA’s) decision to resume in-person trials to evict tenants in Brooklyn Housing Court beginning on July 27th. Under OCA’s plan, tenants, attorneys, court officers, judges, and […]
July 6, 2020 We are unionized legal services unions and workers who represent tenants in New York City’s housing courts. Today, people of all walks of life are participating in a righteous uprising that demands an end to state-sanctioned violence against Black lives. In conjunction with this uprising, communities are renewing their demands for programs […]
June 18, 2020 It is imperative that we correct the inequalities in our step system. Our step system is systematically inequitable: it provides lower percentage increases at virtually each step to staff on the lower paid scales, and has a disparate racial impact. Under our current step system, a social worker moving from step 1 […]
June 18, 2020 Legal Services Staff Association Local 2320 is relieved that the Supreme Court has repudiated the Trump administration’s racist and xenophobic ideology by ruling that ending the DACA program is unlawful, and that Trump’s actions in trying to end it were arbitrary and capricious. The decision affects 650,000 Americans who have called the […]
June 18, 2020 An Open Letter from the Legal Services Staff Association 2320: We are members of the Legal Services Staff Association 2320—a union representing secretaries, paralegals, receptionists, process servers, social workers, attorneys and other non-management employees of Legal Services NYC (LSNYC) and Mobilization for Justice (MFJ). We serve low-income persons and communities throughout New […]
7/14/2020 The Legal Services Staff Association and Legal Services NYC have reached agreement on a bargaining process for issues related to Covid health and safety. The text of the agreement is as follows: —————————————————- During the COVID-19 pandemic, given the uncertainty with regard to virus transmissibility and immunity and rapidly changing public health recommendations, the […]
June 1, 2020 This weekend, cities across the United States erupted in protest to demand justice for the racist murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless other Black Americans. The Legal Service Staff Association, UAW 2320, stands with black communities resisting oppression and demanding justice. We stand with black communities […]
May 13, 2020 The Association of Legal Aid Attorneys (UAW Local 2325) and The Legal Services Staff Association (UAW Local 2320) represent 2,000 attorneys and legal workers at more than a dozen organizations in New York. Our dedicated members fight tirelessly for hundreds of thousands of low-income community members and their families in immigration cases, […]
May 6, 2020 The NYC Right to Counsel Union Taskforce represents members of Legal Services Staff Association (NOLSW/UAW 2320), the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys (UAW 2325), the National Organization of Legal Services Workers (UAW 2320), and SEIU1199. We are a coalition of unions representing nonprofit legal services workers in New York City, and we […]