Raun J. Rasmussen, Executive Director
Joseph S. Genova, Chair, Board of Directors
Legal Services NYC
Dear Mr. Rasmussen:
The Movement of Rank and File Educators (MORE), the Social Justice
Caucus of the United Federation of Teachers, stands with the members
of Legal Services Staff Association (LSSA), our brothers and sisters
of UAW Local 2320, who were forced to strike on May 15th for the first
time in nearly 20 years. We urge the management of Legal Services NYC
to immediately negotiate a fair contract with its staff, so they can
return to the work they hold dear of providing critical legal
protections to New York’s low-income families, many of whom are our
fellow school workers, students and their families.
We stand with the LSSA as colleagues in providing vital services to
New York’s working families. Just as we fight for our members’
professional dignity and respect, we support the LSSNY workers’ stand
for dignity and respect. Just as we insist on a better educational
environment for ourselves and for the students whose lives we touch,
we want to ensure the LSSA have the resources and support they need
to continue to be the best advocates possible.
We support the strikers’ fight for their rights to family sustaining
wages and benefits. The current offer demands significant,
financially unnecessary cuts to health care coverage and retirement
benefits, and freezes salaries at current levels, despite a steadily
rising cost of living in New York.
MORE strongly urges you to avoid a prolonged strike by offering your
staff a contract that reflects the value they bring to your
organization and to the ongoing fight to protect New York’s most
vulnerable workers. We stand in solidarity with our union brothers and sisters in
their struggle.