August 9, 2020
Dear Friends, Supporters, and Allies for Racial Justice:
As some of you may be aware, in recent months a unionizing effort has been underway at the Lawyers’ Committee. Throughout our 57-year history, the Lawyers’ Committee has defended the right of labor to organize, and our support remains constant. These issues are also deeply personal to me. Prior to my tenure at the Lawyers’ Committee, I served as Chief of the Civil Rights Bureau of the New York State Office of the Attorney General, where I enforced state labor laws and supported unionized employees facing discrimination and harassment in the workplace and more.
After rounds of discussion with the union seeking to represent Lawyers’ Committee staff, and other discussions with our corps of experienced managers and supervisors, we have ultimately agreed to a process for voluntary card-check recognition. If the Union is certified as the majority representative of the staff at Lawyers’ Committee, I am confident that we will remain a strong and unified organization.
Thank you for continuing to stand with us, and with Black people and other people of color impacted by racial injustice. Our work is needed now, more than ever.
Kristen Clarke
President and Executive Director
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law