(C) Minnesota Reformer
This unaltered story was originally published on MinnesotaReformer.com [1]
Licensed under Creative Commons License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 [2]
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Minnesota public defenders may be nearing strike
By: ['Rilyn Eischens', 'More From Author', '- March'], Minnesota Reformer
Date: 2022-03
Public defenders across Minnesota could be nearing a strike after the state sent a “last, best and final” offer that attorneys say doesn’t address “longstanding and rampant issues.”
Teamsters Local 320 represents more than 700 public defense attorneys and staff statewide. The bargaining team unanimously recommended members reject the offer, according to a news release, which would also authorize a strike and trigger 10 days of mediation between the state Board of Public Defense and the union.
“A strike is always our last resort,” Andrea Anderson, legal office assistant in the Fourth Judicial District, said in a news release. “The justice system isn’t working as it should right now though. Attorneys and our staff are handling such an extraordinary amount of cases that we are working completely inhumane hours and are past the point of exhaustion.”
Given the constitutional requirement that defendants be provided with an attorney if they cannot afford one, a strike would significantly slow the gears of the justice system.
Details about management’s offer aren’t public. Union members have said they’re pushing for a contract to address overwhelming caseloads, high turnover and and inequitable pay — issues they say make it impossible to provide high-quality representation for clients.
According to the Board of Public Defense website, public defense attorneys across Minnesota take on about 150,000 cases per year.
The Board of Public Defense says they’ll need more money to resolve those problems. In a recent legislative hearing, State Public Defender William Ward said Minnesta would need an additional 149 public defenders and 100 support staff to meet the national caseload standard of 400 cases per attorney.
The board is requesting a $50 million state funding boost this session — roughly 45% of the agency’s current budget. Hiring enough staff to meet national caseload standards would account for about $29 million of that, Ward said.
“We’ve never been funded to get to the national standard, ever,” Ward said. “Cases are falling through the cracks because we don’t have sufficient staff to meet the needs of our clients.”
Union members’ votes will be counted March 10. If they vote to reject the offer, that doesn’t necessarily mean a strike will happen; if a strike does take place, the earliest they could walk off the job is March 18.
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