Senior staff attorney Jahnavi Bhaskar told Law360 on Wednesday that at least one union member has been offered a $500 bonus for every day they work during the strike.
The union also accuses managers of notifying staff in an email the night before the strike began Friday that anyone who calls out sick will need to provide a doctor's note.
"That's in violation of our collective bargaining agreement, which explicitly says sick time doesn't require a doctor's note," Bhaskar said.
In a Thursday email to staff that was shared with Law360, interim Chief Administrative Officer Jesus Infante wrote, "Employees who become ill at the outset of the strike and request sick leave must provide a physician's certification verifying the illness. If appropriate documentation is not provided, the absence will be treated as participation in the strike. Sick leave will not be approved for employees who are already participating in the strike."
NDS' management did not immediately respond to Law360's request for comment.
Wednesday marked the fourth day out of work for the union's more than 100 members, who are represented by the Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys — a United Automobile Workers affiliate that represents more than 3,500 legal services workers in and around New York City. Another ALAA shop, the Bronx Defenders union, remains on strike after walking off the job on Monday, while the Brooklyn Defender Services union ended its strike with a tentative deal last week after nearly a week on the picket line.
The union and its managers remain at odds over employee healthcare coverage, which currently comes at no cost to employees.
In a statement Saturday, the NDS' leadership said its healthcare proposals "are highly competitive," increasing employee take-home pay while providing zero in-network deductibles and zero co-insurance healthcare options.
"To manage rising benefit costs within our strict public funding limits, NDS has offered the union two separate, choice-based structures: Under one option for NDS employees, NDS is introducing paycheck premium-sharing (amounting to just $12.93 per pay period for an individual PPO plan) or an employer-paid premium plan with a deductible and accompanying HSA," it said. "The union may also choose to maintain their current no-cost-sharing plan."
Bhaskar, however, disputed this description of management's offers.
"That is an incorrect characterization of what the proposals have been," she said. "All the proposals impose healthcare costs on our members for the first time."
The union is also pushing for higher cost-of-living adjustments than the 1% per year proposed by managers.
--Editing by Rich Mills.
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