Minnesota’s criminal public defense attorneys and their support staff overwhelmingly authorized what a historic strike Thursday that could come in as few as 10 days. (iStock/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Minnesota's criminal public defense attorneys and their support staff overwhelmingly authorized a potentially first strike Thursday, one that could come in as soon as 10 days if an agreement on new contracts isn't reached.

At issue are pay disparities with other agencies, staffing levels and the flexibility to work from home. Public defenders say staffing shortages lead to crushing caseloads that hurt their clients, who mostly are indigent and minorities.

"For a state that is actively trying to reform its criminal justice system, this is a good place to start," said Kyle MacArthur, an investigator in the Fifth Judicial District in Mankato.

The vote by the members of the Teamsters Local 320 was revealed at an online news conference Thursday. Attorneys voted 244-40 to reject the latest offer from the state Board of Public Defense. Administrative staff voted 90-35 to reject their offer. Both units were working under contracts that expired in June 2021.

The sides now enter the 10-day cooling-off period and will be ordered back to the bargaining table by the state Bureau of Mediation Services for facilitated negotiations. At their news conference, lawyers and staff still expressed optimism about reaching an agreement.

The Board of Public Defense called the votes disappointing and said it agrees that public defenders are underpaid and offices understaffed.

But the board said it is "constrained in its negotiations by the resources provided by the state to provide these constitutionally mandated services across Minnesota."

It's unclear what would happen if the employees strike. Kevin Beck, the union's lawyer, said the chief public defense lawyers and managers in each district throughout the state would likely have to represent clients. Many public defense clients are jailed upon arrest and rely on public defense attorneys to represent them in time-sensitive bail hearings.

In the Minnesota system, there are 326 full-time public defense attorneys and 176 who work part time. Their salaries for years have fallen short of similar public attorneys. They start with less pay, receive smaller increases and have lower maximum salaries.

For state public defense attorneys in 2021, the entry level salary was $65,800, with a maximum of $115,466.

In 2020, the average entry-level salary for county prosecutors in Minnesota was $70,352, with a maximum salary for experienced attorneys reaching $135,607.

In the state Attorney General's office, attorneys start at $78,332 and can earn up to $140,153.

Before the votes, state chief Public Defender Bill Ward said the most recent contract offer would have provided pay increases of about 12% over the two-year term of the contract for support staff who aren't at the top of the pay scale. Those workers represent 90% of the staff, Ward said.

For the staff attorneys who aren't at the top of the pay scale, the increases would be 11% over the same period. About 85% of attorneys aren't at the top of the scale, he said.

Ward said even those increases would have created a deficit for the board, but he noted that Gov. Tim Walz had included funding for additional increases in his current budget proposal. Under the rejected proposal, Ward said, any additional money from the Legislature would first be applied to the deficit, with remaining funds going to additional salary increases.

At a legislative hearing in January, Ward said Minnesota would need an additional 149 public defenders, 14 managing attorneys and 98 support staff to meet the national caseload standard of 400 cases per attorney.

He told legislators that the office would need an additional $50 million to fully staff public defense offices across the state and raise salaries. This year's budget is $106 million, 90% of which is salaries.

According to the Local 320, public defense attorneys and staff represent at least 80% of criminal defendants in Minnesota, and 40% of those defendants are Black.

"Minnesota's failure to support its essential public defense employees is a direct reflection of how its criminal justice system continues to harm communities of color, and is potentially even violating their constitutional rights," a union news release said.

Kyle Christopherson, spokesman for the Minnesota Judicial Branch that oversees the state courts, said in a statement: "We hope the union and Minnesota Board of Public Defense can reach an agreement during the cooling-off period and avoid a strike."