CAMBA Legal Services Workers United Rally to Mark One Month on Strike
*** PRESS ADVISORY ***
Brooklyn, NY — On Tuesday, August 12, 2025, CAMBA Legal Services Workers United (CLSWU) held a rally to mark one month on strike in a struggle for a fair contract at the offices of CAMBA Legal Services (CLS) in Flatbush, Brooklyn. CAMBA management has not met with CLSWU to negotiate key demands since July 23, 2025, and the strike continues into its second month.
CLSWU members were joined on the picket line by community members including striking legal services workers from Goddard Riverside Law Project Union (GRLPU). Both unions are on strike participating in a historic sectoral bargaining campaign alongside the majority of legal services workers in New York City represented by the Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys-UAW Local 2325 (ALAA 2325). GRLPU and CLSWU are the last two ALAA 2325 chapters remaining on strike.
Speakers at the rally included New York State Assemblymember Robert Carroll (District 44), Brandon Mancilla, UAW Region 9A Director, Caitríona Fox, CLSWU Union Delegate and Bargaining Committee Member, and Paige Maier, GRLPU Bargaining Committee Member.
Addressing the attorney and non-attorney legal staff from CAMBA and Goddard, Assemblymember Carroll said “it is shocking that a mission-driven organization like CAMBA which promotes throughout Brooklyn, that, if you’re being evicted or you need an immigration attorney, we’ve got lawyers to help you, and then they won’t go and pay those lawyers and legal workers a fair wage, that’s not right. And when you have young people, and young families, working for you and you offer two weeks of parental leave. . . then it’s real simple. What you all are asking for should be the floor.” Continuing, Assemblymember Carroll added, “you cannot go to the public and say that you are here to stand up for the community and the community’s rights, and then treat your workers like this.”
CLSWU staff attorneys and paralegals provide free civil legal services to low-income New Yorkers in the areas of housing, foreclosure, immigration, and consumer law. CLSWU members organized to form a strong union because better working conditions lead to better client representation. High-quality legal services are critical in the movement to advance social justice.
Assemblymember Emily Gallagher (District 50) provided a statement in support of the rally: “I stand in solidarity with the workers of CLSWU, who are the last line of defense for low-income New Yorkers facing eviction, foreclosure, deportation, and other predatory practices. No one should have to choose between a meaningful career and being able to pay their rent, but the legal workers at CAMBA Legal Services find themselves in that position. These workers do not have outrageous demands —they seek a living wage, paid leave, workload protections, and COLA to account for NY’s exorbitant cost of living. When our legal workers aren’t able to support themselves, our whole city suffers. I urge the leadership here to come to the table and negotiate a fair contract with these workers.”
New York City Council Member Shahana Hanif (City Council District 39) stated: "Our legal services workers are on the frontlines defending tenants from eviction, protecting immigrant families from deportation, and standing with New Yorkers in their most vulnerable moments. They deserve wages and working conditions that allow them to continue this life-saving work without burning out or being forced out of the profession. Their fight is about fairness for workers and justice for the communities they serve."
Assemblymember Harvey Epstein (District 74) expressed support, saying: “I stand alongside UAW Local 2325 and CLSWU in their fight for a living wage. As a former legal services lawyer myself, I know how important the work they do is. Their strike has lasted over a month. It’s time for them to return to the important work of serving our city’s low income tenants with the fair contract they deserve.”
During this bargaining session, CLSWU’s demands include:
A livable wage floor for paralegals;
A cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) that accurately reflects the crisis of affordability in New York City;
Competitive compensation for all attorney steps;
Workload protections for housing staff, in line with a recent Right to Counsel report;
Leave provisions with 100% pay, including parental leave, short-term disability leave, and sabbatical time.
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For comment, please contact:
Joan Hill-Barnett at joanhill95@gmail.com
Naomi Young at Naomi.M.C.Young@gmail.com