Staff at Albany County's Office of the Public Defender want to unionize. But the county has refused to recognize the effort.
Now, the parties are headed to court.
“We are trying to make sure that we have a voice at the table to assure that we are able to continue providing the best quality representation that the people of Albany County deserve," said Ava Agree, an attorney in the county public defender's office.
A member of the union's organizing committee, Agree said, in the workplace — just like in court — having a seat at the table is essential for a fair and just outcome.
The public defender’s office is responsible for representing Albany County residents charged with a crime who cannot afford a lawyer. Apart from providing legal counsel, they may also refer defendants to mental health or addiction services.
“Having a robust public defender's office is incredibly important, because by and large it is the most vulnerable people in this county who are charged with crimes," said Agree, "and those people deserve the best defense.”
On March 2, a large majority of staff at the public defender’s office announced their intent to unionize. The union would comprise both attorneys and professional staff, which includes paralegals, caseworkers, peer advocates and secretaries.
But County Executive Daniel McCoy has yet to recognize the union. A county spokesperson said the county would not comment while negotiations are underway, but members of the public defender's office said their understanding is that part of the hangup could be that the county doesn't want to recognize different classes of employees — like attorneys versus professional staff — in the same bargaining unit.
Paralegal Amanda Buczeksmith is another member of the union's organizing committee. She sees value in staff across their office bargaining together.
“The understanding for everyone involved was it was going to be wall-to-wall, because we care about our coworkers," said Buczeksmith, "and as a member of staff, I think I have more backup if I have my attorney friends and my staff friends behind me in my union than if it's suddenly half of the office is cut out.”
Agree said the union has been years in the making. But recent changes in management and workplace dynamics have exacerbated tensions.
Near the end of last year, McCoy replaced former Public Defender Stephen Herrick with Yorden Huban, who was then deputy county attorney.
Since then, staff like Agree have reported deteriorating working conditions.
“They've included things like taking away people's right to work remotely, taking away certain ways that people are able to engage in other types of work, and generally just an environment that has made attorneys feel not respected in our work, has stagnated wages across the board for everybody, and resulted in an environment where staff across the board don't feel we're being respected as professionals," said Agree.
Time management has been another point of contention between attorneys and management. Steve Barry, an attorney who left the public defender’s office at the beginning of March, said he was frustrated with what he saw as excessive oversight from Huban.
Barry said that, at the time when he was leaving, Huban was setting up a spreadsheet for attorneys to fill out accounting for hours worked outside the office. Barry said attorneys were expected to list what they were doing, where they were and how long they were there.
"So, if you made a visit to the jail or a visit to the courthouse, or if you met a client out somewhere, you were supposed to log in all those movements and locations and times," Barry said. "It just felt so...I don't know, infantilizing, like these are, this is a group of professionals.”
Huban did not respond to requests for comment.
According to Agree, since the beginning of this year, the office has lost about 20% of its staff. Dan Speranza, an attorney and member of the organizing committee, surmised that burnout and perceived lack of respect pushed many to quit.
“I mean, if you're handling, you know, violent felonies, if you're handling high-level drug cases, and you're working long hours, and at the same time, you are being questioned as to why you're working that many hours, or you know, just generally feeling unsupported," said Speranza, "that's certainly going to drive people to leave.”
The county has hired attorneys to replace those who left, but many are less experienced.
The office has lost professional staff, too, forcing others to fill in for night court or secretarial work. Attorneys say workloads have grown, and wages have stagnated, with promotions on hold while the unionization process unfolds.
Staff is seeking to join the Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys (ALAA), a union of legal and social workers. The ALAA mainly represents members of New York City organizations, but the Albany County office wouldn’t be the first group in the Capital Region to join them. Public defenders in the Schenectady County office successfully unionized with the ALAA in 2024.
According to Agree, over three-quarters of the Albany staff have signed cards indicating they want to be in a union. In the meantime, a litigation process by the Public Employment Relations Board, a state agency that adjudicates such disputes, is underway. Agree said a hearing may be set for sometime later this year. She said the litigation process may be long, but in the meantime, she's hoping the county changes its position.
“We want to serve this county," Agree said. "We are employees who give our days — give our lives — doing incredibly challenging work to serve the people of this county. All we want is a seat at the table, so we can assure that we can continue doing that.”