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Case sees his
fears come true

The lawmaker says unions
are getting all they want without
having to compromise

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By Pat Omandam
Star-Bulletin

In November, Manoa Rep. Ed Case predicted there would only be "lip service" to real change in this Legislature, with little change on state workers or state finances.

At the halfway point of the 2001 session, the dissident Democrat believes he's on the mark.

"The public employee unions are having a field day in this Legislature," Case said yesterday.

"It's the most public employee union-friendly Legislature in my seven years here. All of the fears that I had and expressed back in November, when the House majority organized, are coming to pass."

Case said a good example is the state biennium budget, where the main motivation in both the House and Senate appears to be to fund all public employee pay raises without requiring the unions to agree to more efficiency and productivity from state workers.

And there's been no meaningful push for further civil service reform and mounting opposition to privatization as proposed by Gov. Ben Cayetano and supported by all four county mayors, he said.

"House and Senate leadership and committee chairs appear to be determined to totally undercut the governor's efforts to negotiate some reasonable pay raises that are contingent upon better enabling government to be able to afford these pay raises through efficiency and productivity," he said.

But officials for the Hawaii Government Employees' Association said state lawmakers understand the arbitration process and believe they must fund the contract that was set by arbitrators last year.

"I think the legislators recognized that we've played according to the rules," said Wayne Yamasaki, HGEA deputy director.

Hawaii State Teachers Association President Karen Ginoza said what's critical for teachers this year is a bill that authorizes annual step raises for 10 years followed by merit-based raises. Currently, teachers are under a 15-step salary schedule.

There have been no formal talks on a new contract, with teachers preparing for a possible strike following spring break. A bill to fully fund HSTA pay raises is moving, she said.

Another bill moving that affects the state's public employees is a bill that repeals the mandatory arbitration law and restores the right of public employees to strike. Others measures that affect unions which remain alive include:

Sick leave: Allows an employee to use up to 10 days of available sick leave to care for a family member who is in serious condition.

Military credit: Allows Employees' Retirement System participants who served in the U.S. military up to four years credit.

Health fund cap: Limits state and county contributions for public health benefits to fiscal year 2001-2002 levels.

Managed competition: Establishes a managed competition process to allow the state and counties to contract services to private companies.

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