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State ordered to
negotiate with union
for UH faculty

Talks had broken down over
the negotiability of certain
contract terms

By Richard Borreca
Star-Bulletin

The Hawaii Labor Relations Board has ordered the state to start up negotiations with the union for college faculty.

Talks stopped when the state's negotiator, Davis Yogi, said the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly was asking for changes in the contract that would amount to changes in state law.

The union disagreed, and the matter went to the labor board.

In its 48-page ruling, the board said Yogi's actions "were willful and constitute a refusal to bargain in good faith."

J.N. Musto, UHPA executive director, called Yogi's argument "weird and senseless."

"It is clear for all to see now that the state's new legal theories on what is and is not bargainable under the law are just plain wrong," Musto said.

Yogi, who this morning said he had not read the decision, said the state would bargain with UHPA on wages but still felt it could not bargain on other matters already addressed by state law.

"I still have concerns with conflicts in the statutes," he said.

The union and the state disagree on the meaning of a state Supreme Court decision, called the SHOPO decision, that labor contracts could not add or change something that was already in state law.

"There is a pecking order of what takes priority," Yogi said.

The union, however says Yogi and the state had included items such as sick leave and per diem expenses, which are normal conditions of work and are negotiable.

"The natural consequence of Yogi's challenge to the negotiability of UHPA's proposals and hard-fought contract rights without seeking a determination in the proper forum resulted in a complete breakdown of negotiations and further dialogue with the union," the labor board said.

Mike McCartney, state labor director, added that the state is now lobbying the Legislature to change how public workers bargain with the state.

While UHPA and the state are now likely to resume some form of collective bargaining, Gov. Ben Cayetano's administration is pushing ahead with civil service reforms that would change the entire landscape for public unions in Hawaii.

"We believe the state Legislature has the power to enact laws for what we call employment policy," McCartney said.