Joint Press Release from ALAA 2325 Chapters Remaining on Strike
*** PRESS ADVISORY ***
New York, NY — The Goddard Riverside Law Project Union (GRLPU), Urban Justice Center Union (UJCU), and CAMBA Legal Services Workers United (CLSWU) stand united as members remain on prolonged strikes in stalled negotiations for fair contracts. GRLPU marks one month on strike this week, with UJCU and CLSWU following next week. The strikes continue as management at Goddard Riverside Law Project (GRLP), Urban Justice Center (UJC), and CAMBA Legal Services (CLS) refuse to engage with the unions on key bargaining demands. As New York faces an affordability crisis and attacks on due process, the over 120 striking members of GRLPU, UJCU, and CLSWU must win fair contracts to resume serving low-income New Yorkers.
The three unions are fighting for livable wages, fully paid parental leave, and workload protections—demands at the core of a sector-wide bargaining campaign. On July 1, 2025, contracts expired for ten chapters of the Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys, UAW Local 2325 (ALAA 2325). GRLPU, UJCU, and CLSWU were among the first of these ALAA 2325 chapters to go on strike and are the last remaining on strike.
Over the weeks since GRLPU, UJC, and CLSWU went on strike, six other ALAA 2325 chapters have reached or ratified agreements, raising non-attorney salary floors, and advancing livable wages across the sector. GRLP, UJC, and CAMBA workers refuse to be left behind.
GRLPU members provide free legal services and tenant organizing to low-income residents on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. GRLPU was forced onto the picket line on July 9th before the rest of the sector because management refused to engage in good-faith bargaining. To date, GRLP refuses to come to the table. “We were very happy to get the support of the rest of the sector,” said Gabriel Flores, a tenant organizer at GRLP, “and we heard many stories of our strike charge motivating others to stand firm and go through with their strike threat.”
UJCU is made up of dedicated staff from the Safety Net Project, Mental Health Project, Domestic Violence Project, Free to Be Youth Project, Freedom Agenda, and the Street Vendor Project—all housed under the Urban Justice Center. UJCU membership includes skilled organizers, advocates, paralegals, and attorneys who defend vulnerable New Yorkers facing eviction, deportation, and other systemic harms. UJCU secured its first contract in 2022—12 years after unionizing but remains the lowest paid shop in the sector. Management's proposed salary floor is $52,000–far below NYC’s livable wage. While Executive Director Doug Lasdon touts UJC as an incubator for social justice organizations, he earns nearly six times more than the lowest-paid staff–highlighting an exploitative pay structure.
CLSWU members provide free legal services to low-income New Yorkers in the areas of housing, foreclosure, immigration, and consumer law. “My colleagues have brought the same grit and integrity to the picket line that they bring to each of their cases,” said Ibtihal Chamakh, a staff attorney at CLS and a member of CLSWU. CLSWU’s well-publicized 2019 strike led to its first contract and helped to revive labor organizing in New York City’s legal services sector. Today, CLSWU is on strike for a fourth contract as CAMBA resists fair pay and case caps, and maintains the sector's shortest parental leave policy.
Without fair contracts, workers at these three legal services organizations serve a city they can no longer afford to live in. That is why GRLPU, UJCU, and CLSWU are united in their fight for fair pay and conditions that reflect the value of their work.
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For comment, please contact:
Goddard Riverside Law Project Union
Gabriel Flores, Goddard Riverside Law Project Union, gabriel58911@gmail.com
Urban Justice Center Union
Eric Horowitz, erichorowitz92297@gmail.com
CAMBA Legal Services Workers United
Naomi Young, CAMBA Legal Services Workers United, naomi.m.c.young@gmail.com