Assistant Public Defender III
Cindy Frezzo
Assistant Public Defender III
Stephanie Joseph
Casi O’Neill
Assistant Public
Defender II
Anagha Bharadwaj
Why organize attorneys, IT workers, Social Workers, and core staff together?
What will make us a strong union?
Are we the first public defenders’ offce to unionize?
“I joined the union to help establish a career path for core staff. We need a clear plan for advancement, training, and new job opportunities.”
Henry Druschel
Assistant Public Defender III
Isabel Lipman
Administrative Aide
Kalia Woods
Intake Specialist II
Darlene Preston
Dyan S. Owens
Paralegal II
Cheryl Redd
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
A LETTER FROM MDU’S PRESIDENT
TAKING ACTION AND GETTING RESULTS
WHY WE FORMED OUR UNION
WHY WE FORMED THE MDU
In the summer of 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, we came together to form the Maryland Defenders Union (MDU), a union of attorneys, social workers, and support staff at OPD. We were concerned about OPD’s poor communication with us around the pandemic, and we wanted to see improvements in our workloads, compensation, and retention. We were also disappointed that OPD had not moved more quickly in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. OPD’s town hall meetings had unintentionally been a wake-up call—highlighting both the department’s disorganization and all the injustices that support staff face.
Compensation is an issue for many of us, but especially for support staff. A single parent does not make a living wage. As a result, too many employees make the hard decision to work second jobs.
In August 2020, we went public as a union and began inviting hundreds of employees to unite in the MDU.
We have been hugely successful and were certified in fall 2020 as AFSCME Local 423, an affiliate of AFSCME Council 3.
In January of 2021, we elected our first group of officers!
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“It costs nothing to communicate with each other but this agency finds it very hard to communicate clearly. At the MDU, we are fighting to make clear communication a priority.”
“OPD’s attorneys, core staff, and social workers do some of Maryland’s hardest and most important work. It’s time all of us receive the compensation that reflects our enormous value.”
“Core staff are critical to our representation of and advocacy for our clients, but they’re not paid like it. Until every core staffer is paid a living wage, OPD is falling short in its mission, and that has to change.”
“Our offices are operating with a fraction of the attorneys we need. With ever increasing caseloads and not enough attorneys, we cannot give each client the individual attention their case deserves. This is not client-centered and it is counter to OPD's mission and values.”
“I have worked a second job since I started at OPD 8.5 years ago. My starting pay was less than I made with a temp agency. Three of my coworkers also have second jobs. Too many core staff have limited time with our families.”
“The MDU is advocating in the legislature for our rights as workers and for the rights of our clients. Whether fighting for merit conversion for our attorneys, police accountability, or other issues, we are united in one voice for justice for all.”
“Even without collective bargaining, MDU members came to the table with OPD management. We made our concerns known—from poor communication about laptop roll out to the need for assessment of ventilation in the courthouses and our workplaces. It’s through hundreds of OPD employees uniting and speaking collectively that we have the power to make change.”
“As we built our public health campaign, we dealt with unprecedented risks to our clients and members. We issued demands, met with legislators, and ultimately went to the press. By taking the lead, we won long-lasting changes to improve courthouse and workplace safety.”
“No matter our OPD job title, we are all defenders. When we have a voice at work, our clients benefit right along with us. That’s why unionizing is not just important, it’s our ethical imperative.”
As president of the brand new MDU, AFSCME local 423, I am excited to work with all of you to make OPD a better place for all employees. In addition to being chartered as our own local last year and signing up hundreds of new members, we have accomplished a great deal!
Our first order of business in 2020 was to bring awareness to the public health challenges facing our workers and clients in offices, courthouses, and jails. We built strong relationships with legislators and secured their help to fight for improvements. We spoke forcefully in public about unsafe conditions and appeared in newspapers, on the
radio, and TV. Our meetings, webinars, and forums helped educate coworkers and the larger community about dangers to public safety that come from poor ventilation, inadequate barriers, and the lack of hazard assessments in the places where we are required to work. We also met with Paul DeWolfe to urge more effective action in addressing our health and safety and to provide him with tools to assess dangers in our work spaces . Our campaign will continue as long as necessary to ensure that our safety becomes the agency’s highest priority.
This year we are developing our campaign to win improvements in compensation, workloads, communications and career advancement. We are confident we will make progress on these issues, but to succeed fully, we need our membership to reach a majority so that we may win collective bargaining rights and a seat at the table with management. With collective bargaining, we will build the power to fight for step increases and raises that match those won by other AFSCME locals. This year we have proposed legislation to win merit conversion for attorneys. Under our proposal, attorneys will receive greater job protection and will be covered by any future collective bargaining agreement. We also support legislation that will improve telework, and we will be fighting to restore our budget.
We look forward to welcoming all of you into the MDU. With hundreds of united OPD workers, we can speak with one voice to transform the agency for the good of our families, our clients, and the public.
In solidarity,
Marci Tarrant Johnson
President
Vision for the Future
Kalia Woods, Non-Attorney Vice President
Dyan Owens, Attorney Vice President
Henry Druschel, Recording Secretary
Cheryl Hughes-Redd, Secretary-Treasurer
Cynthia Frezzo, Attorney Board Member
Social Worker
Assistant Public Defender II
Assistant Public Defender II
AFSCME represents public defenders in Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon and Washington; and represents professionals and support staff in Public Defender and Legal Aid offices in the states of Georgia, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Pennsylvania and New York.
Wherever workers organize “wall-to-wall,” they have more power to effect change and that’s what we want. Besides, we believe the whole OPD culture needs to change so that we communicate with each other clearly, retain employees, and build a culture of respect.
Building a big majority union is the single most important step we can take to be powerful. And we build a big majority by taking action on the issues that matter most to all of us. We are the union. Together, we build a reputation for voicing the real concerns of OPD employees and winning improvements, like improving communication and making our workplace safer. Ultimately, we will win a formal seat at the table to make changes with management. This legislative session, we’re taking action to convert the attorneys to merit status—that will give us the foundation we need to move ahead and win a seat at the table, collective bargaining.
How do I join?
Fill out a membership application -
The dues are $17.93 per pay period.
New Membership Form
Stephanie Joseph, Attorney Board Member
Isabel Lipman, Attorney Board Member
Tabitha Chambers, Non-Attorney Board Member
Afrika Kwanna, Non-Attorney Board Member
Casi O’Neill, Non-Attorney Board Member
Marci Tarrant Johnson, President
Table of Contents
WHY WE FORMED THE MDU
WHY WE FORMED our UnioN
Taking action and getting results
A LETTER FROM MDU’S PRESIDENT
Frequently Asked Questions
We were also motivated by workload issues. Some attorneys have been carrying caseloads that make it impossible to serve clients fairly. Core staff who are seeing “pins” disappear far too often and are also too commonly themselves overloaded. As a result, many talented employees leave OPD.
Core staff start at less than a living wage. With each additional year at OPD, their salaries increase by an average of less than 1%. This is less than what is necessary to keep up with inflation, serving as a de facto pay cut for core staff annually.
Office Secretary III
Tabitha Chambers
“This agency did not respond quickly enough to my coworkers’ concerns for their health and safety. Many of us put our lives and our families’ lives at risk to hold on to our jobs and make ends meet. That’s why we need this union!”
Administrative Aide
Afrika Kwanna
“Too few of us feel that we have a real voice in decision making on the job. With our union, all of our voices will be heard.”
MDU and Council 3 are affiliated with AFSCME, a union of 1.4 million members nationwide. Being a part of the union offers a range of benefits from discounts on car rentals to home mortgage assistance. The benefit we are most excited about is the free college program that is offered to members and their families. Contact MDU
for more information about benefits.
Aside from winning a voice at work, are there other benefits to union membership?
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TAKING ACTION AND GETTING RESULTS
marylanddefendersunion@gmail.com