Union Under Fire for Allegedly Fostering Antisemitic Hostility at NYC Legal Aid Group

By: Fern Sidman

A powerful union representing hundreds of legal aid workers in New York is facing explosive new allegations of antisemitism, after a federal complaint accused its members of creating a hostile, pro-terror work environment that targeted Jewish employees in defiance of internal neutrality policies.

As was reported by The New York Post on Wednesday, the complaint—filed this week by the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and its Coalition to Combat Antisemitism—charges that the union A Better NYLAG (ABN), a chapter of the United Auto Workers Local 2325, knowingly cultivated a “toxic working environment” at the New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) through inflammatory slogans, signs, and public displays related to the war in Gaza.

NYLAG, which provides legal services to low-income New Yorkers—including migrants—and receives over $40 million annually in public funding, employs approximately 350 attorneys and staff members. According to the information provided in The Post report, its leadership issued a strict neutrality policy in May 2023, following the horrific October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. The internal memo barred political materials related to the Israel-Hamas conflict from being displayed in workspaces, calling for an environment that was “welcoming” and “inclusive” of all viewpoints.

However, the Brandeis Center’s 20-page complaint, submitted to both the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), paints a disturbing picture of a union openly defying that directive and marginalizing Jewish colleagues.

Among the incendiary materials cited in the complaint were buttons and posters bearing slogans such as “Intifada Now” and “Resisting Colonialism is Not Terrorism,” displayed prominently in offices and cubicles by ABN members. These phrases, the complaint argues, “rationalize the killing of Israeli Jews” and create a hostile environment for Jewish employees who are either pro-Israel or simply concerned about the glorification of violence.

The New York Post report cited an internal email dated March 21, 2024, in which one Jewish lawyer wrote, “As a Jewish person, I should not have to work in such close proximity to signs that direct hatred towards me.” The same attorney added that these displays were effectively pushing Jewish employees out of the workplace.

Rather than defending its Jewish members, the union escalated its opposition to NYLAG’s neutrality policy by filing a complaint with the NLRB in June, claiming that the ban on Gaza-related materials violated the free speech rights of pro-Palestinian employees. According to the report in The Post, this action has outraged Jewish staff, several of whom are also union members.

One attorney cited in the complaint directly accused ABN leadership of manipulating union power for political ends, writing, “You are intentionally seeking to harm members of the unit for your own personal political purposes, which have absolutely nothing to do with the working conditions [of members].”

Rory Lancman, senior counsel at the Brandeis Center and a former New York City Councilman, sharply rebuked the union in a statement quoted by The New York Post: “Rather than defend the right of these Jewish NYLAG employees… to be free from a toxic work environment, the ABN went so far as to advocate against the very Jewish employees whom they purport to represent.”

Lancman added, “The ABN is choosing to support discrimination against Jewish NYLAG employees… who are enduring an antisemitic environment that NYLAG’s policy is attempting to remediate.”

The Brandeis Center is now calling on federal labor authorities to rule that ABN violated its legal obligation to provide fair representation to Jewish union members and to prohibit the union from further obstructing NYLAG’s ability to enforce anti-discrimination policies in its workplace.

This is not the first time the United Auto Workers’ legal aid affiliate has been entangled in controversy over antisemitism. As was indicated in The New York Post report, last July, the Brandeis Center also filed a complaint against the Legal Aid Society’s union—also part of UAW Local 2325—accusing it of retaliating against three employees who criticized what they viewed as antisemitic behavior within the union.

As of press time, ABN has not issued a public comment to The Post in response to the new allegations.

The lawsuit is yet another flashpoint in the growing national debate over antisemitism in progressive institutions, particularly in workplaces that publicly proclaim their commitment to equity and inclusion. For NYLAG, a respected organization with long-standing ties to the UJA-Federation of New York, the controversy threatens not only internal cohesion but also public trust in the integrity of its mission.

This developing story calls attention to the increasingly fraught intersection of identity politics, labor activism, and the urgent need to safeguard Jewish employees from ideological harassment masquerading as political expression.