[ TEACHER STRIKE ]
For many teachers, The prospect of going without does not scare Christy and Daryle Mishina.
a long strike could
prove financially
devastating
Strike will stress already
tight budgets in teacher
householdsBy Christine Donnelly
Star-BulletinThey say they've been going without for as long as they've been public schoolteachers, and that has only strengthened their resolve to strike for better wages.
"We knew when we became teachers that we were never going to be rich, but we didn't know how close we were going to be to poverty," said Christy Mishina, 30, who teaches seventh-grade science at Kapolei Middle School. Her husband, Daryle Mishina, 29, teaches seventh-grade social studies at the same school.
The Department of Education does not keep track of how many "teacher couples" it has in its ranks. But Christy Mishina knows of many, including at least six other couples with at least one spouse at Kapolei Middle School.
A long strike could be financially devastating to such families, but the Mishinas find another alternative equally disturbing: continuing to accept what they consider substandard pay for demanding and important jobs.
"We're in it together," said Christy Mishina, referring both to her husband and to the other teaching couples they know. "We rely on each other for moral support."
The Hawaii State Teachers Association is not paying strike pay to its members on the picket lines, but has arranged for several local lenders to provide interest-free loans to members, with first priority going to sole breadwinners or teaching couples such as the Mishinas, said HSTA spokeswoman Danielle Lum.
The couple has been unable to save much ahead of time, since most of their salaries go to pay the mortgage on their Ewa home, car payments and other essentials. After seven years teaching for Daryle and six years for Christy, each still earns around $30,000 a year, she said.
Christy Mishina said they could survive for about a month with no paychecks. Any longer than that and they'll likely tap relatives for loans. Having been born and raised on Oahu, both have parents and other relatives who "might be seeing us more for dinner," she said. Married since just last summer, they have no children, which is just as well since "we can't afford them right now."
Despite the added financial hardship, Christy Mishina said none of the teaching couples she knows plan to cross the picket line. She's resolute that her union should hold out for a contract that raises salaries across-the-board.
"I'm not saying it has to be 22 percent (the HSTA's initial demand) but it should be for everybody, whether you're a new teacher, mid-career or master," she said. "I wouldn't ratify a contract that benefits only a small percentage of the people."
Gov. Ben Cayetano has said the state simply cannot afford the teachers' demands, especially when combined with the costs of other union contracts.
But Mishina says the state cannot afford the cost of NOT paying teachers more, namely seeing more educators leave the field. Next up, her husband Daryle, who's thinking of becoming a firefighter. "He loves his students. But we have to make a better living."
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