The union representing staff attorneys for the Bronx Defenders — one of several member shops of the Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys that went on strike last week — has reached a tentative contract agreement with their managers.

Union members returned to work on Monday after announcing on Sunday they had come to a deal with management. The organization is awaiting a formal vote on the contract.

"From the moment I joined The Bronx Defenders nine months ago, I pledged open communication with the union, meeting with them monthly to hear their concerns, in the interest of building mutual trust and understanding," Bronx Defenders Executive Director Juval O. Scott said in a statement. "Yesterday's tentative agreement is the fruit of that labor, and I am looking forward to working closely with the union to ensure that this year's agreement is the foundation of future success."

According to a Sunday night social media post by the Bronx Defenders union, the deal includes a $68,500 wage floor for investigators, advocates and administrators, longevity differentials and raises for attorneys and social workers.

"This victory is a testament to the tremendous power we wield when we collectively withhold our labor," the union said.

Staff at the Bronx Defenders, Center for Appellate Litigation, and Office of the Appellate Defender went on strike on Friday, joining the New York Legal Assistance Group and Urban Justice Center on the picket line after their union members walked off the job earlier in the week.

The Appellate Advocates union, another ALAA shop, announced Monday that it has reached a tentative agreement with management as well, averting a strike. The union says it plans to vote on ratification this week after securing salary increases, an agreement not to roll back telecommuting and workload reductions for attorneys who join the office straight out of law school.

Several shops remain on the picket line as the ALAA, which represents more than 3,000 public interest attorneys and advocates in the New York City metro area, pursues a sectoral bargaining strategy it hopes will deliver better contracts for its members, with some of the more common points of contention including wages, workloads and speech protections.

The walkouts leave New York City without hundreds of its public interest attorneys and advocates, with the potential for the strike to balloon if the largest shop — the nearly 1,100 unionized members of New York Legal Aid — don't reach a deal by their July 25 strike deadline.

--Editing by Nicole Bleier.