Law360 (August 7, 2026, 11:28 AM EDT) -- The Bronx Defenders union said it has struck a deal with the organization's management, ending the last public defender strike in New York City this summer.

The deal announced Thursday came shortly after the union agreed to managers' request for separate salary scales for attorneys and social workers, a central point of contention in the negotiations.

In return, managers agreed to the union's proposed salary scale for administrative and support staff, higher pay for social workers, preserved student-loan assistance, retirement benefits, and a 2% cost-of-living adjustment for the 2028 fiscal year, followed by a 3% adjustment in fiscal year 2029, according to a Thursday statement from the organization's executive director, Juval O. Scott, shortly before the tentative agreement was announced.

The union made a deal on two outstanding issues earlier this week. According to an Instagram post from the union on Tuesday, management agreed to expand reprieve leave to all staff, rather than limiting it to client-facing staff. The union also accepted management's proposal for a delayed start on student loan relief.

"After a challenging bargaining cycle and a strike which became protracted due to management's lack of urgency in meeting our collective bargaining committee at the table, the parties reached a tentative agreement last night," Jessica Coffrin-St. Julien, an immigration attorney with Bronx Defenders and a member of the committee, told Law360 Pulse in an email on Friday. "Highlights include 3% COLA, increased retirement contributions, student loan fund participation, expanded reprieve leave, recurring sabbaticals, and raises across the board."

The tentative agreement ends a work stoppage that began on July 27. The Bronx Defenders' leadership said Friday that the tentative agreement includes starting salaries of $95,000 for first-year attorneys, $91,000 for first-year social workers and $70,555 for first-year support and administrative staff.

"I am thrilled that we have found a path forward," Scott said in a statement. "As I had made clear from the beginning, we needed a contract that would raise compensation across every staff role and strengthen our ability to recruit and retain excellent attorneys, social workers, investigators, advocates and support staff. This contract does just that. These investments will strengthen the shared purpose that brought us all to the Bronx Defenders: standing beside individuals and families across the Bronx when they need us most. The people we serve deserve an office that is strong, united, and prepared to fight for them without exception."

The Bronx Defenders union is one of five represented by the Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys, a United Auto Workers affiliate that represents more than 3,500 legal services workers in the New York City metro area whose contracts expired on June 30.

The Brooklyn Defender Services Union and the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem union also went on strike last month, but they returned to work with deals on July 22 and Aug. 3, respectively. The union for the Center for Family Representation averted a strike with a deal earlier this week.

The union for Catholic Migration Services is the last of the five to remain in negotiations. Updates on the bargaining process have been sparse, but the union said in an Instagram post back in June that management had offered 4% raises, which it argued is insufficient with the current inflation rate.

--Editing by Robert Rudinger.

Update: This story has been updated with comments from the Bronx Defenders' management. 

For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.