The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law on Wednesday filed complaints with both the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of numerous Jewish employees at the New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG). The complaints allege that the employees’ union—A Better NYLAG (ABN)—not only failed to represent their interests but also actively obstructed NYLAG’s attempts to address and resolve what is described as an anti-Semitic workplace environment allegedly perpetuated by the union itself.
ABN is a chapter of the United Auto Workers of America, Local 2325, also known as the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys.
According to the complaints, the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack in southern Israel triggered a surge of anti-Israel advocacy within the offices of the New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG), creating a workplace atmosphere that many Jewish employees described as hostile and discriminatory. Employees reported that posters were displayed in the office that rationalized and even supported the violence of the October 7 atrocities, while promoting further acts of a similar nature.
One Jewish NYLAG employee implored management to intervene, writing: “These signs are having the discriminatory effect of pushing Jewish people and/or Zionists out of these spaces. As a Jewish person, I should not have to work in such close proximity to signs that direct hatred towards me.”
In response, NYLAG management implemented a viewpoint-neutral policy banning all posters and postings related to the Israel/Gaza conflict in the office, aiming to preserve a non-discriminatory work environment. Under U.S. labor law, private employers have the legal authority to restrict political expression in the workplace, particularly when such expression contributes to a hostile environment for employees based on their identity and is unrelated to workplace conditions or employee rights.
Rather than defend the rights of its Jewish members to a safe and inclusive work environment, especially when the alleged hostility stemmed in part from the union’s own activities, A Better NYLAG (ABN) actively opposed them. Instead of supporting its members, ABN filed an unfair labor practice charge against NYLAG with the National Labor Relations Board, challenging the very steps NYLAG took to protect its Jewish employees.
The ABN serves as the exclusive bargaining representative for NYLAG staff and is therefore legally obligated to represent all employees fairly. As stated in the NLRB complaint, “a union cannot sacrifice the rights of members belonging to one protected group in order to support others’ claimed ‘right’ to discriminate or harass. Yet this is precisely what ABN is accused of doing—discriminating against its many Jewish members and others in the bargaining unit by perpetuating a toxic, discriminatory environment.” A union that fails in its duty of fair representation due to discriminatory intent not only breaches labor law but also violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as well as New York State and City civil rights statutes.
The complaints also cite additional examples of ABN placing its political agenda above the safety and well-being of Jewish staff. Ahead of a scheduled anti-Israel protest, the NYPD issued a warning about potential threats. NYLAG responded by offering Jewish employees the option to work from home. ABN, instead of supporting this precaution, criticized management’s decision. One Jewish employee wrote to the union in frustration: “Were you aware that my not-even two-year-old daughter couldn’t go to her classes on Friday, despite the increased police presence, for fear of her physical safety? That my husband couldn’t wear a kippah to work on Friday, for fear of being attacked?”
According to the complaints, ABN has consistently resisted and obstructed NYLAG’s attempts to address the growing anti-Semitic discrimination and harassment faced by its Jewish employees.
