[ TEACHER STRIKE ]
Long strike HE'S NOT a member of the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly or the Hawaii State Teachers Association, but Pancho Gomes still is keeping a close eye on the strike that has brought public education to a standstill across the state.
threatens to
cripple economy
An economist predicts a ripple
effect could extend beyond
local businessesBy B.J. Reyes
Star-BulletinGomes is the branch manager at Kinko's copy center on King Street, near the University of Hawaii.
The longer the strike goes on, the more his store's bottom line is at risk.
"I think it's too early to feel the impact yet," Gomes said Friday as teachers and professors were off the job for the second straight day. "If the strike continues, we will slow down. It could affect us by 20 percent."
Although the first two days haven't hurt business, Gomes said that if students don't have classes or class projects, they have no use to come into his store. He said it certainly is in his best interest for a settlement to be reached quickly.
He's not alone.
Though only two days old, the far-reaching effects of the public education strike in Hawaii are likely to be felt in areas beyond empty classrooms and dormant campuses.
The state's economy is just one sector that will suffer from a long strike, said Eric Drabkin, an associate professor of economics at Hawaii Pacific University.
With 12,000 public school teachers and 3,100 university professors off their jobs, "if this goes on for any period of time it's certainly going to affect growth in Hawaii," Drabkin said. "Given the large number and given that they don't seem to have a strike fund, they're certainly going to take a hit and that certainly will be reflected as their expenditures go down."
Businesses that might feel the strike effects sooner than others include restaurants and entertainment venues, as financially strapped teachers begin to cut back on spending, Drabkin said.
"This could also affect vacation plans as well," he said. "It's possible the airlines could feel an impact this summer if (strikers) use up savings they had planned for vacation."
Most union members remain committed to remaining on strike until they get a fair deal, said Neal Milner, a picket line captain and political science professor at UH-Manoa. He said the majority of strikers have not openly discussed the implications of how a prolonged strike might adversely affect them financially.
"With a strike, it's an uncertain process," Milner said. "You go into it and you live with the consequences. People aren't talking about giving up."
Teachers and professors aren't the only ones with extra expenses from the strike. The University of Hawaii and the state Department of Education also have had additional expenses.
The university spent about $15,000 on postage for first-class informative mailings to students and faculty, spokesman Jim Manke said.
A prolonged strike might also affect businesses such as Sodexho-Marriott Service, which provides food services on campus. Although most food services on campus were open on the first day of the strike, hours were being scaled back by Friday, said Susan Fukushima, operations director for Sodexho-Marriott.
The Department of Education also spent about $10,000 on the publication of a letter from the superintendent and other costs related to setting up a command center for strike information, agency spokesman Greg Knudsen said.
Even though the added expense is "quite small" compared to the estimated $2 million a day that the state saves in teacher salaries, "we aren't looking at that as any kind of windfall at all," Knudsen said. "We want the teachers back."
Some police departments, called in to maintain order at picket lines, also have incurred added financial burdens. Police on Kauai say an additional $4,000 a day in overtime is needed for 13 officers and two supervisors. Maui Police Chief Tom Phillips estimated that the amount of overtime being paid would be in the thousands of dollars. He expected to have an exact figure by Monday.
Students aren't exempt from the financial pinch, either. Already worried that their tuition would be wasted if a prolonged strike cancels the semester, some college students feel cheated out of other funds, too.
"If I lose the semester, basically I've lost a whole semester of time and paid that extra rent," said Lauren Araki, a junior majoring in psychology. "You're losing money all around."
Most high school students may not have rent and tuition to worry about, but a prolonged strike has implications for them too.
The state hopes to be able to reopen some schools soon, but if the strike makes that impossible there is no minimum number of days require for an academic year to be considered legitimate, Knudsen said.
He said the administration has determined that students could miss up to 20 days with no adjustment needed. Should the strike last beyond 20 school days, May 2, the Board of Education would have to decide what action to take.
"I would say that we haven't really focused on that, yet," Knudsen said. "We are still optimistic that this will not involve a real long strike."
But some options have been discussed informally.
"We would need to consult with others in higher education institutions to get a sense of their feeling of whether or not our students will have put in enough time to really earn a degree they would honor," he said. "We had also hoped to have maybe some other options: an extended school year, equivalency testing or computer-based instruction. There probably would be options like that available for students."
A canceled semester wouldn't spell the end for college seniors, either. Seniors would simply have to meet with their professors to determine if they have completed enough class work to earn credit for the course, UH's Manke said.
Not all students would be able to take advantage of this opportunity. For law students, "there are certain programs that are monitored quite closely by the American Bar Association where there has to be a certifiable number of classroom hours with the faculty."
For Annessa McLaughlin, a senior set to graduate with a degree in speech language pathology, the prospect of losing the semester is a heavy burden because she has not had the opportunity to ask her professors about making up work if the semester is canceled.
"It's scary," she said. "I really want to graduate this summer. I've paid my tuition and nothing results from it -- it's just not fair."
Still, as inconvenient as the strike may seem, not everyone is feeling the pinch. On the opposite corner from Gomes' Kinko's branch, Jelly's Music has enjoyed a slight surge.
"A lot of the kids have been coming in. It almost seems like spring break a week later," manager Franklin Saunders said. "I think it's going to help (business) if it lasts into the week. At the same time, I know it's hurting a lot of other people."
At neighboring Coffee Cove Online, manager James Kaku also noticed a slight increase in business when the strike began.
He hears the teachers' pleas for more money, and sympathizes with them.
"We support the teachers," he said. "We do offer them a discount."
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