[ TEACHER STRIKE ]
The teachers union and the state were expected to head back to the bargaining table today in informal talks as the statewide teachers strike enters its sixth day.
Cayetano reiterates that
GOP says state can pay By Crystal Kua
striking teachers could lose
state-paid health benefits
Star-Bulletin"We'll be getting together face to face," the state's chief negotiator, Davis Yogi, said yesterday.
The Hawaii State Teachers Association filed a lawsuit to prevent striking teachers from losing health benefits.
Also, two professors and the union filed a lawsuit for injunctive relief in Circuit Court yesterday to keep death benefits throughout the duration of the strike.
But Gov. Ben Cayetano reaffirmed his position that striking workers are not entitled to health benefits paid by the state. "You can't expect taxpayers to subsidize a strike," Cayetano said.
With less than 1 percent of the state's 12,000 public school teachers reporting to work, schools will remain closed today.
No face-to-face negotiations have occurred since talks broke off Wednesday, but parties have been talking by phone.
Talks ended last week after the union rejected the state's offer of an average 14 percent raise with a total cost of $93 million.
HSTA President Karen Ginoza said that offer is now off the table. The union's offer at the time was about 20 percent, costing just under $200 million.
The union also wants a proposal to include retroactive wages, raises for everyone, step increases and more money than the governor is currently offering in a total package.
Yogi said new negotiations were delayed so that the state could take a look at pending bills in the Legislature that could affect negotiations. He also wanted to look at the version of the state budget passed Friday out of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
Today's negotiations could include discussions on a letter Yogi delivered to HSTA headquarters on Friday. The letter apparently said that the state will not start negotiations from scratch as the governor indicated earlier, but instead the state will again focus on the concepts of its March 8 proposal, which offered teacher raises of between 10 to 20 percent.
"It's an informal letter we are still having to talk about," Ginoza said. "We have to talk to the chief negotiator to see what it means. ... We need a lot more clarifying and a lot more information."
The governor said that he wants talks to produce new proposals by the union, and he does not want to cover old ground.
"I think the teachers themselves are going to have to decide for themselves what is fair compensation," he said. "We've been more than accommodating in seeking a resolution."
As Cayetano was talking to reporters at the state Capitol, teachers wearing union T-shirts stopped to listen.
Ginoza said that teachers have stepped up efforts to lobby state lawmakers for financial support and to educate the public about the union's position on salary and related issues.
The lawsuit the union filed yesterday is seeking an injunction to prevent the state from withholding its contributions toward state health insurance premiums. The lawsuit is also asking a judge to keep the state from dropping any HSTA member from the health membership ranks.
The governor said he considers striking workers on unauthorized leave without pay and therefore are not eligible for health benefits while on strike.
"We're saying to employees who are striking, you can continue to be part of the health plan, but you're going to pay the whole thing now," Cayetano said.
The union said the state has never taken that action before in any other strike.
"I wasn't governor during those strikes. I'm the governor today, so it's a different situation," Cayetano responded.
In other developments, the Hawaii Labor Relations Board denied yesterday the state's request for the board to reconsider its decision not to declare 322 special-education teachers as essential workers.
The board initially said that those teachers would need to report to work in the event of a strike.
The board, however, reversed its decision when the state failed to turn in an adequate plan on how those teachers would be used.
>> HSTA Web site
>> UHPA Web site
>> State Web site
>> Governor's strike Web site
>> DOE Web site
There is new proof that the state does have money to fund teacher and university faculty pay raises, according to Rep. Charles Djou (R, Kaneohe). GOP says state
By Richard Borreca
can pay teachers
Star-BulletinHe points to the Legislature's House and Senate budget worksheets, which are being made public after protests by the Legislature's Republican minority, as proof that there is enough money.
In a letter to the two striking unions, Djou said an inspection of the budget shows there is enough money.
"From looking at these budget workbooks, the state has the ability to reduce spending to fund your organization's wages without raising taxes," Djou said.
"I invite you to send a representative ... to review these documents and test the claims made by the governor for yourself," Djou added.
Meanwhile, House Democratic leader Rep. Marcus Oshiro (D, Wahiawa) said House and Senate leaders have "agreed to expand public access" to the budget worksheets. Senate documents were available starting last week, but House financial papers will not be available until Thursday.
But he said that if someone wants a copy of the worksheets, they will have to pay for them themselves.
House Speaker Calvin Say estimated the size of the House worksheets at more than 600 pages.
But Oshiro warned that the budget documents are constantly being revised, and the figures may not be up to date.
"I have a concern that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle will be reluctant to discuss their personal views for fear of it being used against them in public," he said. "This could have a chilling effect on the general public discourse so vital in a healthy democracy."
>> HSTA Web site
>> UHPA Web site
>> State Web site
>> Governor's strike Web site
>> DOE Web site
