UH faculty The University of Hawaii faculty union will begin taking a three-day strike vote on all campuses this morning. If the faculty votes in favor of a strike, they could walk off the job in early April.
to hold strike vote
this week
The state says a key
request 'has too much of
a dire impact'By Treena Shapiro
Star-BulletinJ.N. Musto, executive director of the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly, said he expects the faculty will vote to strike.
The results will be calculated on Friday afternoon and released on Saturday, he said.
Musto said the final offer issued by the state Friday was "unacceptable."
"The only thing that changed, quite frankly, was that they added to UH-Manoa, West Oahu and Hilo a 1 percent (raise) over two years," he said. No changes had been made regarding faculty at community colleges, which continues to be a sticking point, he said.
The union has asked that full-time community college faculty be allowed to teach four classes a semester, rather than five. Faculty at Manoa, West Oahu and Hilo campuses are given these so-called three-credit-hour equivalencies to spend time researching and preparing for promotions and tenure.
The state's chief negotiator, Davis Yogi, however, said the community college faculty are asking for more pay for less work. "I don't think we're going to just reduce workload. It has too much of a dire impact on the number of classes that will be offered," he said.
Yogi added that the UH Board of Regents decision last week to lift the tuition cap at the community colleges this fall has created a new uncertainty. Because students will now have to pay for every credit, rather than just the first 12, "we're not sure whether there will still be a demand for classes beyond 12 credits," he said. "I think we still need at least the fall semester" to determine whether there is still as great a demand for courses.
The state offered community college faculty the equivalent of a 10 percent raise, $4,577 over the next two years, plus a 1 percent merit opportunity, Yogi said.
"We think our offer is fair," he said. "They have to decide whether the earnings loss is worth a strike."
Gov. Cayetano, in a letter to the regents, said striking faculty will have the status of unauthorized leave of absence without pay.
Musto said he believes this is a violation of the law. "We have the legal right to strike," he said.
The state will continue working to settle the remaining contract issues with the union, Yogi said, but the union has to make some concessions. "We did sweeten the pot and now it's up to them."
