To Be Moved Before The Membership
At September 14th Membership Meeting

Last night the LSSA Delegates Assembly unanimously supported a resolution designed to light a fire under management and help force a fair settlement of a contract. Although LSNY lead negotiator, Jeanne Perry, professed a desire to settle this contract quickly and without a lot of acrimony or a strike deadline they have yet to show any willingness to put forward an offer that could even be the basis for a settlement. Before the start of negotiations Jeanne claimed that LSNY would not be seeking health care givebacks but then proceeded to demand that our spouse and domestic partners give up their coverage through LSNY even if their alternative coverage is clearly inadequate. In June LSNY unilaterally changed our health coverage in a way that had significant tax consequences for our members with domestic partners.

The resolution, that must be approved by the membership next week, calls for the following:

A strike deadline of Friday, October 13th. If a contract is not ratified before that date the membership will meet on that date to vote on LSNY's last offer. If the membership fails to ratify that offer we will be on strike.

A negotiations deadline of Monday, October 9th at 6:00 pm. The LSSA Team is willing to negotiate through the Columbus Day weekend but the membership must be able to see and consider LSNY's last offer prior to debate and a vote on Friday. We will not repeat the scenario of 2003 where the membership assembled at 10:00 am on the day of the strike deadline but the Team didn't arrive with LSNY's offer until 1:30 pm.

Authorizing the Executive Committee to call job actions and conduct other activity designed to win a fair contract, including a one day strike.

The Delegates also extended the terms of our officers until after the contract is settled, appointed our Treasurer, Megan Faux, as Strike Coordinator in the event of a strike and chair of the Action Committee and established the following committees:

It is, of course, very important that members actively participate in these committees. Members will be asked to sign up for these committees at the Membership Meeting next week.

See the full text of the Resolution by clicking here.

By Jim Provost

It is a LSNY tradition to cry poverty as we begin contract negotiations but this year they broke that tradition. When LSSA's bargaining team accused management of having money at our first bargaining session they didn't deny it. But how well are they doing? Let's look at the numbers. (See all the numbers in our "Comparison of LSNY Revenue and Expenses 1/1/02 - 12/31/05").

Every year, LSNY is required to have its finances audited by an outside accounting firm. These are not LSNY's budget projections but reflect what has actually occurred, as determined by the auditors, after the end of the fiscal year. In 2003, the last time we negotiated a contract, LSNY was not doing too well. By the end of 2003, they had lost almost $3.5 Million in revenue and a little more than $1.5 Million in net assets over 2002. The contract we settled with them reflected that reality. We agreed to substantial givebacks in the area of health care and accepted pay increases averaging three (3) percent a year which did not keep pace with inflation. Over the past three years, however, the reality has been very different.

Between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2005, LSNY's revenue has grown by almost $6 Million (15%) and their net assets have grown by more than $4.5 Million (143%). In contrast, LSNY's personnel cost have only increased by 11% since the beginning of 2003 and only 1% from 2004 to 2005. While LSNY continues to complain about the raising cost of health insurance, by far the biggest part of their fringe cost, fringe has only risen by 11% since 2003 and only 2% from 2004 to 2005. When looked at as a percentage of revenue, LSNY's total personnel cost, including fringe, is lower than it was in 2002 (73% of revenue in 2005 as opposed to 74% in 2002) and fringe costs as a percentage of revenue is lower than it was in 2003 (17.8% in 2005 as compared with 18.9% in 2003).

As for 2006, LSNY has spent $780,853 less than it expected to this year in personnel expenses through July 31st, including $332,334 less than it expected in fringe costs. When all expenses are looked at LSNY has spent $1,353,016 less than it had budgeted for the first seven (7) months of the year. While LSNY is also behind in collecting revenue this is always true and LSNY Chief Financial Officer, Tony Butler, has expressed confidence before the LSNY board that this is due to mere "timing issues" in collecting government funding and that all the money will eventually come in. In past years LSNY has had to borrow a few times a year to make payroll due to these "cash flow" problems but this year LSNY has enough cash on hand to avoid borrowing altogether.

LSSA has been, and will continue to be, responsible in its economic demands. We work hard to protect the jobs of our members and we neither want our demands to be the cause of layoffs or the reduction of client services. We have demonstrated the willingness to sacrifice on the many occasions when LSNY faced financial crisis which was usually caused by its own incompetence. LSSA and the UAW have also worked hard lobbying to protect and expand government funding for Legal Services which is an important reason why LSNY finds itself in such a comfortable financial position this year. But these numbers also tell us that now is the time for LSNY to recognize our commitment to our work and our value to the program by settling a fair contract with us. Instead LSNY has demanded health insurance givebacks that it does not need, seeks to water down our seniority protections and insults us with a salary offer that averages 1.3 percent. In 1991 when LSNY found itself in a similar financial position a member stood up at a membership meeting and said "every day we demand dignity for our clients and its time that we demanded dignity for ourselves as well." Now is the time once more.

NOLSW members at West Side SRO Law Project settled their contract on August 17th. The only issue was salaries but all-in-all they did pretty well especially considering that West Side's funding has stayed more or less the same for the last few years. West Side does not have a Step System (our Steps are worth an average of 1.9%) but attorneys there have traditionally stayed slightly ahead of LSNY in salaries. The increases were as follows:

Attorneys with less that 4 yrs. exp.: Senior Attorneys: Support Staff:

1st Year 9% 6% 7.3%

2nd Year 6% 5.8% 5%

3rd Year 5.5% 5.5% 3.6%

Congratulations to the Union's team which was made up of Senior Attorney (and former LSSA member) Marti Weithman and Organizer Sheila Stowell. Great job!

Last month LSSA set up a "Google Group" at the suggestion of members at the Jamaica shop. It works like a listserve so members can "post" messages regarding bargaining or any other issue regarding union. While it got off to kind of a slow start members are starting to spout-off about how they feel about LSNY's dreadful offers and talk about ways to let management know that they have to do a lot better. More than 50 members have signed up so far.

To sign up just send a private (not office) email address to lssa@lssa2320.org and you'll be added to the group. Messages are delivered once a day so that no one gets overwhelmed but you can change the setting sothat messages are delivered to your "In Box" as they are sent. If you don't have a private email address you can get one for free that you can access on any web browser at www.google.com; www.yahoo.com; or www.hotmail.com.

SAME DOG, SAME TACTICS
LSNYs "Negotiating" Stuck in the Mud/Past

Under the Magnifying Glass

Since it is so hard to see any changes at all in LSNY's latest offer, here they are in a nutshell:

We have ordered All New (and Fabulous) LSSA T-Shirts which should be here by the end of the month. They feature the LSSA/UAW "Wheel" on the front (original design concept by our own Gibb Surette) and "Justice" in some of the many languages we use to serve our clients on the back. They will be 100% cotton and, of course, 100% Union Made.

LSNY'S SECOND TRY SEEMS WORSE THAN THEIR FIRST

On July 31st LSNY presented the Union Team with an offer that quite simply baffled and insulted us. In offering a "compensation package" of $2.5M over a 3 ½ year period, which includes our normal step increases ($1.38 M over 3 ½ years), increases in the value of steps, retirement health insurance ($136,500 over 3 ½ years) and loan forgiveness ($240,000 for January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2009), it became clear for the first time, that LSNY's initial June 28th offer did not represent any increase to salaries other than the cost of increases already built into our existing step system. After spending an entire session getting clarification on their vaguely drafted offer, LSSA's understanding was that the "$466,000 per year in increased compensation" ($1.6 over 3 ½ years) included (1) the cost of their offer on retirement health insurance, (2) the loan forgiveness program and (3) an offer on salary increases on top of steps with a valued of approximately $350,000 in each year, which they explained at the table was not compounded. Thus, not only is the current offer less than what the Union understood their first offer to mean; but it clarifies that LSNY's initial offer, was in fact, a non-offer on the issue of salary increases.

So what does the current offer represent in terms of actual increases to salaries? LSNY's current offer is for $350 increase to the steps for non-attorneys; $850 increase to base for attorneys steps 1-5; and, $550 increase to base for attorneys over Step 5. TRANSLATION: For non-attorneys, this translates to a raise of approximately $8 per paycheck after taxes. For attorneys on steps 1 - 5, this translates roughly to a $20 (about 1.6%) increase. And they're the big winners under this proposal!

LSNY SAYS "TRADE-OFFS"-WHAT THEY MEAN IS "GIVE BACKS"

On the same day as LSNY insulted its employees with its latest contract offer it also purported to show how much it appreciates them at its 2nd Annual Picnic. The LSSA Bargaining Team informed the picnickers just how deep LSNY's appreciation ran by distributing fliers pointing out that the sandwich LSNY provided equaled the value of the raise legal workers would see in each paycheck under LSNY's latest offer. (naturally, attorneys were offered slightly better sandwiches). In talking to members the team received clear direction on the organizing task ahead. Accordingly, the Team and the EC will begin plans for a Membership Meeting in September to ask for a strike authorization and plan other actions to win a fair contract.

Just a little over a week ago Bed-Stuy's Project Director Camille Cooke informed the staff of the beleaguered program that she would be resigning. The next Tuesday at the LSNY board meeting we learned that Bed-Stuy board member Betty Staton, a recently retired Family Court Judge, would assume the role of "Interim Project Director" until a permanent replacement could be hired. Judge Staton worked at Bed-Stuy as a staff attorney from 1979 to 1983 and a manager from 1984 to 1987. In addressing the LSNY board and Bed-Stuy board members that were present, LSSA President Jim Provost, expressed his concern and anger that a hiring process had taken place without the staff's knowledge much less their participation in violation of the CBA. He also told the LSNY board that LSNY bares considerable responsibility for the crisis in which Bed-Stuy finds itself due to their inept accounting practices of the past and refusal to intercede in any situation until jobs and services have already been lost.

The long awaited "strategic plan" which the Bed-Stuy board promised four (4) months earlier, however, turned out to be a bare boned outline of proposed fundraising events and the process for the search for a permanent project director. It addressed none of Bed-Stuy's more systemic funding, staffing and service issues. Today the staff was introduced to Judge Staton at a meeting requested by the union. While she certainly seemed very nice it remains to be seen whether she, and the rest of the Bed-Stuy board, would be able to achieve any degree of fiscal and programmatic stability in the program. Certainly substantial assistance from LSNY would be required. Whether that will be forthcoming is a very different question.

LSNY MAKES POOR SHOWING IN ITS 1ST OFFER TO UNION

LSNY's 1st Offer - What does it all mean?
Show us the money!!!

Following the June restoration of $4,482,500 and $213,000 in enhancements from the City Budget, LSNY has offered LSSA members an average raise of only $845 per year (less than a 1.3% raise). After taxes that's about $20 more in each paycheck each year (enough to cover your cup of Starbuck's coffee on the way into the office each day), and even less if you take into account each year's increase in the cost of living.

Furthermore, in exchange for a contribution towards retiree medical coverage and adding steps 22, 23, 24 and 30 to the step system, LSNY proposes (1) a poorly thought out scheme to make all steps take effect at the beginning of the year (instead of in the fiscal quarter of your date of hire), which would deprive members hired in the second half of the year the benefit of a higher step increase for up to 6 months; and, (2) demands salary increases in flat dollar amounts, to benefit those at Steps 1-5 more than senior employees with more years of service for whom the discrepancy between LSNY salaries and Legal Aid salaries are the highest.

Finally, while the offer addresses making eye care coverage and better short term disability coverage available, LSNY's offer proposes that we pay for it! Thus, while the structure and approach of their first offer this year differ from the past, the bottom line remains remarkably reminiscent to the LSNY of past years.

Health Care Watch

LSNY Strives to Undermine Health Care Coverage by
Offering Members Higher Incentives to Opt for Cheaper Plans

Having saved nearly quarter of a million dollars by offering incentives to members to opt out of CIGNA (high) coverage, LSNY proposes to deepen the divide by offering members higher incentives to opt for cheaper plans and to opt out of extending coverage to their spouses and domestic partners. However, as the numbers of members in the CIGNA plan decrease, there is a danger that the group will reach a number where CIGNA will not offer the plan to LSNY or the cost of the plan will skyrocket, especially if the remaining members of the pool have the highest claims. Finally, in proposing that spouses and domestic partners with alternative health coverage available pay the difference in the cost of the premium to keep that person on the LSNY plan, LSNY bald-facedly stated (in a complete about face from earlier talks) across the table that they are uninterested in the quality and/or cost of the type of health that the spouse/domestic partner has available. The Union team remains mindful of the impact that these incentives have on the overall quality of healthcare that union members and their families have available as LSNY's offer might force families to abandon needed secondary insurance and cause family members in the same household to have dramatically different health care coverage.