Workers from Osborne Workers United march with tens of thousands at May Day 2026 in NYC.
After a hard-fought organizing campaign, workers at the Osborne Association, a nonprofit organization that provides services and advocacy to those affected by the criminal legal system, have formed a union with OPEIU Local 153. In May 2025, workers at the Osborne Association began organizing their colleagues to form a union - Osborne Workers United.
After publicly announcing our intent to unionize on May 1, 2026, the organizing committee and Local 153 staff worked with Osborne management to establish a historic Labor Peace Agreement, which was signed on September 24, 2026. This agreement expanded our rights as workers and made our organizing safer and simpler by guaranteeing that our employer would not engage in retaliation, remain neutral, allow Local 153 to access offices, and agree to a card check. On November 4, 2026, after getting a majority of workers signed on to union authorization cards, the card check was conducted, our majority was confirmed, and we officially won our union!
“I feel so excited to be a part of this wave of progress with all my colleagues. Through working towards unionizing over the past year, I have felt honored to get to know so many other workers across Osborne and beyond. We’ve all come here from different places with different stories, and the same dream of a better future for ourselves, our families, and the people we serve. I can’t wait to start building a future for our organization that represents everyone’s hopes, together!” shared Ali Kamerman, program coordinator of the LGBTQIA+ Case Management program.
The Osborne Association, founded in 1933, is a New York City-based nonprofit organization with offices throughout New York State that serves individuals, families, and communities affected by the criminal legal system. Osborne’s programs span a wide range of areas including defense-based court advocacy, reentry housing and services, workforce development, youth empowerment, and jail and prison-based services - all of which support the organization’s mission to offer opportunities for people to heal from and repair harm, restore their lives, and thrive, all while challenging harmful systems and fighting for policies that promote justice and liberation. Our workers serve as social workers, case managers, care specialists, peer navigators, family services specialists, transitional counselors, housing specialists, career coaches, and many other roles.
Osborne’s motto is “changing lives, communities, and the criminal legal system.” Each of its employees believes wholeheartedly in that mission and our ability to achieve change for our participants. Osborne Workers United was formed because we want to extend this mission to change the lives of every worker at Osborne and transform our community within to further uphold our organization’s aims of equity, justice, and opportunity to thrive. “Our union reflects the shared commitment of our hard-working, dedicated staff that work tirelessly to support our participants, who now want the opportunity to advocate for their colleagues as well. Through winning our union and strengthening our collective voice, we move closer to having a seat at the table to create a workplace that provides the support and care that our workers need to show up as their best selves for our participants,” stated Dasha Litsenberger, a mitigation specialist with Court Advocacy Services. “I’m proud of my colleagues for believing so deeply in Osborne’s mission and taking steps to ensure we are better equipped to fulfill this mission by unionizing,” said Siobhan Hunziker, program coordinator of the Second Look bail advocacy program.
As workers who reflect the communities that we serve, including many who are personally impacted by the criminal legal system, we hope that our union not only promotes labor rights within our community, but also inspires justice-impacted nonprofit workers to unionize their workplaces and promote the growing labor movement nationwide. Joseph Ross, a group facilitator with the Project Reset early diversion team, shared, “This is a historic time in this country to be the voice for change, transparency, accountability, and collective bargaining. The people have spoken.”