For the first time in state history, Minnesota public defenders are voting to authorize a strike.
The more than 700 defense attorneys and support staff have rejected the latest offer from the Minnesota Board of Public Defense over salary and staffing issues.
Public Defender Cara Gilbert, in a video produced by the Teamsters Union, says low pay is the biggest issue.
“For me personally, that means when I got divorced I had to file bankruptcy,” Gilbert says in the video message. “For a friend of mine that is an attorney, that means she lives in Section 8 Housing. For other friends of mine, many friends of mine, they drive cars that need to be repaired or replaced because they can’t afford it. Lots of my friends, attorneys and support staff, live paycheck to paycheck.”
The strike authorization vote opens up a ten-day negotiating window before a strike would be declared.
This is the third major strike threat in the Twin Cities in the last few weeks. Currently, Minneapolis Public School teachers are on strike. St. Paul Teachers narrowly avoided a strike with a last-minute deal.
