District Attorney refutes claim that office “retaliated” against union attorneys

On day two of a state-mandated hearing, District Attorney Mark D’Antonio refuted his former prosecutors’ claims that the Third Judicial District Attorney’s Office is hostile and retaliatory toward women and union employees.

“I never, ever, would ever consider firing someone just because they were part of a union,” D’Antonio said on Wednesday. “Anyone who refused to carry a lawful order has been terminated.”

The Doña Ana County prosecutors are the first in New Mexico to unionize, according to the state. Of the 11 attorneys who unionized in the district attorney’s office at the beginning of the year, only three remain. The rest either terminated or resigned in the upcoming months.

“The initial reaction was to fire everybody,” said Davis Ruark, a former deputy district attorney who told the courtroom he was fired from the office in January. Outside the courtroom, he described the office as “dysfunctional.”

The prosecutors’ union, Communication Workers of America, filed multiple prohibitive practice complaints with New Mexico’s Public Employees Labor Relations Board, a representative said. Multiple prosecutors said their caseload grew tremendously after they decided to unionize, saying they experienced retaliation.

“No, we were not engaged in dragging our feet or retaliating against anybody for their right to organize,” said Gerald Byers, the office’s current Chief Deputy District Attorney.

On Tuesday, three female former prosecutors alleged discrimination and retaliation in the office: Rebecca Duffin, Cassandra Brulotte and Kelly Herson.

“I was in shock,” said Rebecca Duffin, a seven-year veteran of the office who said she was placed on paid administrative and later terminated. “I had never done anything to be treated this way.”

The three women were placed on paid administrative leave after placing signs on their door that had phrases like “No Mansplaining” and “The Future is Female.”

“There was a national conversation going on about issues that involved us,” Duffin said on Tuesday. “Certainly we wanted the sexual discrimination going on in our office addressed.”

The District Attorney insisted that his office did not retaliate against the employees because of their gender or decision to unionize.

“I never, ever degraded (employees), mistreated them or treated them any differently if they were a woman,” D’Antonio said.

D’Antonio admitted there is not a “set policy” in his office regarding items that are placed on doors, but he said the women’s resistance to taking them down let to disciplinary actions.

“It was not the content of the posters, it was their refusal to take them down,” D’Antonio said.

Months ago, Third Judicial District Attorney’s Office refused to release any public records regarding the women’s punishment to ABC-7.

For the second day in a row, the executive director of New Mexico’s Public Employees Labor Relations Board, Thomas Griego, did not allow ABC-7’s camera to record testimony.

Griego must now determine if there has been a violation of New Mexico Public Employee Bargaining Act. The third day of the hearing is scheduled for November 2nd.