Organizing Update: Workers at Catholic Migration Services and Lenox Hill Neighborhood House Win Union Recognition; LAS Investigators and Interpreters merge with ALAA

Workers at Catholic Migration Services, a non-profit run by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens, were swiftly recognized as a union by CMS Management, and will soon head into negotiations to bargain a first contract. The thirty workers, including attorneys, counselors, administrative staff, organizers, and paralegals provide free legal assistance to low-income communities in Brooklyn and Queens in housing, immigration, and employment practices.

The eight Staff Attorneys at the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House were also recognized as a union earlier this month after an announcement to Lenox Hill Management. The attorneys are some of the only non-union staff at Lenox Hill, where most workers are represented by 1199 SEIU and DC 37. All eight attorneys zealously represent Manhattan tenants in housing court, fighting eviction and displacement.

The Investigators and Interpreters, some of the last non-union staff working at the Legal Aid Society, joined together earlier this year to form a union with the UAW which was quickly recognized by Society management. The ninety Investigators and Interpreters and ALAA’s Joint Council then both voted on motions approving the merger of the two unions. The Investigators and Interpreters will constitute a full chapter of ALAA.