HSTA, state The state and the teachers union were to meet this afternoon with a federal mediator in an attempt to settle the weeklong strike by public school teachers over the Easter weekend.
talking again
Judge Ezra warns teachers
UH talks to resume tomorrow By Crystal Kua
and the state that if the strike
goes on, he may intervene
Star-Bulletin
"We're very pleased," said Joan Husted, Hawaii State Teachers Association chief negotiator.
The mediation session comes a day after a federal judge told both sides to settle the statewide teachers strike within a week or face federal intervention.
Concerned about the impact that the teachers strike is having on special-education services being delivered under the Felix consent decree, U.S. District Judge David Ezra told negotiators from the state and the teachers union yesterday that if the strike is not resolved by the end of next week, the federal court may need to step in.
Ezra has previously threatened the state school system with a federal takeover if it fails to comply with the decree, which mandates that the state provide adequate mental health and educational services to special-needs students in public schools.
"He encouraged the parties to settle," Vernon Yu, attorney for the Hawaii State Teachers Association, said after the closed-door meeting. "He said the federal power to take over the school system if there's noncompliance with the Felix matter would be disastrous for the state as well as the teachers, and so he wanted to avoid that."
Husted said she believes the increasing pressure to bring about a settlement and the deadline set by the federal court contributed to the scheduling of today's talks."I think the meeting with Judge Ezra was helpful," Husted said.
The HSTA plans to bring in its full negotiating team to the talks with federal mediator Ken Kawamoto, Husted said. If a settlement is reached today, the union needs 24 hours to schedule ratification meetings which means teachers could vote on a pact as early as Sunday. Picketlines won't come down until an agreement is ratified.
Ezra's "pep talk" -- as one participant put it -- came as the HSTA and the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly, whose members have been on strike since April 5, joined forces at a rally at the state Capitol yesterday afternoon to call upon Gov. Ben Cayetano to get back to the table.
"And from now on, we will be doing things together. We will ramp up the pressure on Ben," said Alexander Malahoff, president of the UH faculty union.
"They have done everything in their power to stall," HSTA President Karen Ginoza told the hundreds gathered before her. "It's been long enough."
Ginoza said both unions have reserved conference rooms in the state Capitol so state negotiator Davis Yogi can have an easier time bargaining with both unions.
The HSTA also planned to deliver more than 50,000 petition signatures of support to the governor.
In a bipartisan show of support, both unions were joined at the microphone by state lawmakers who also called on the governor to talk.
"Ben, the teachers and the professors want to talk," said Sen. Bob Hogue (R, Kailua).
UHPA Associate Director John Radcliffe called upon the professors to march to the federal building, where Yogi was meeting with UHPA negotiators and the federal mediator.
Hundreds walked down to the federal building, at one point surrounding it and chanting, "Two, four, six, eight, Yogi, come on, negotiate."
At about 3 p.m., Yogi went from the federal mediator's office to Ezra's chambers in the federal court.
More than an hour later, Yogi emerged from meeting with Ezra with no comment.
The Felix consent decree came about as a result of a lawsuit filed in 1993 on behalf of Jennifer Felix and other special-needs students.
The lawsuit says the state has violated federal law by not providing adequate mental health and educational services to special-needs students in the public schools.
Last year, Ezra found the state in contempt because the deadline to meet compliance was not met. The state now has until the end of this year to comply with the court order.
Jeff Portnoy, the court-appointed special master, said Ezra told the parties that this is not a traditional strike because of the federal court's oversight of special-education services. "Judge Ezra discussed with the parties and the negotiators for both HSTA and the state of Hawaii that he is increasingly concerned about the impact of the strike on the implementation of the Felix consent decree, and he urged the negotiators to redouble their efforts to resolve the strike," Portnoy said.
"He told the negotiators that if the strike were to continue for more than another week, he would find it necessary to review the increasing impact on Felix and make determinations as appropriate," Portnoy said.
Shelby Floyd, one of the plaintiffs' attorneys, said the judge told both sides they have "a hot iron on their okoles" and that they had better come together and make a deal, or else he would make a deal for them.
Eric Seitz, another of the plaintiffs' attorneys, said there is increasing evidence that the strike is hurting the state's ability to comply with the decree.
Seitz said the judge could order the appointment of a special master who would have a range of options, including calling an end to the strike, ordering the state to do what is necessary to reopen schools, or bringing the parties together to negotiate.
"It was clear to us if the strike goes beyond another week, we are certainly going to be in court addressing the issue of this strike," Seitz said.
Cayetano said he understands Ezra's concerns, but he hopes the judge does not step in. "I would hope that the federal government would not intervene. This is a state affair," Cayetano said.
"However, I can understand why Judge Ezra would be concerned about how the Felix students are being affected by this strike."
The University of Hawaii faculty union and state negotiators took a Good Friday break today with plans to resume contract talks tomorrow. UH talks to
By Treena Shapiro
resume tomorrow
Star-BulletinThey went back to the bargaining table yesterday afternoon, as hundreds of faculty members marched from the Capitol to the federal building to increase pressure to settle the week-old strike.
Faculty circled the building where the two sides met with a federal mediator, many members going up to the fourth floor to let the state know they expect negotiations to continue until a settlement is reached.
At 8:30 p.m., UHPA President Alexander Malahoff emerged and said he was optimistic that both sides were committed to finding a settlement.
But at 10:20 p.m., when talks ended, Malahoff was not as optimistic, saying, "Suddenly, people turned to stone."
However, chief state negotiator Davis Yogi said, "Good progress has been made."
Negotiations are expected to resume at 5 p.m. tomorrow.
Asked whether there will be a settlement this weekend, Yogi said, "It's too early to tell, but we're all working hard."
Making his way to the mediator's office at 1:30 p.m., Yogi said the UH administration had given him all the information necessary for a new proposal.
Pay raises for lecturers and community college workload are two of the main sticking points, he said. "We have some major issues with the UHPA regarding workload. They want to cut your classes by 750 classes per year."
The state's offer to the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly last Wednesday proposed no raises for lecturers and no changes to community college faculty workload to allow time away from class for university-related activities.
As for raises, in the state's offer last week, the faculty was offered 9 percent over two years from the state and 2 percent out of the university budget for merit increases.
The union has said these are the lowest wage increases granted any Hawaii public workers union. The faculty has asked for 12 percent across the board and 1 percent in merit.
During a dinner break, Malahoff said there had been some movement on pay raises for lecturers and the negotiators were working on the language.
"I think we're very, very close," he said.
Community college workload and raises for full-time faculty had not yet been addressed.
Maybe there will be some movement this weekend, Malahoff said, describing a "state of catatonia" in the negotiations. "Maybe Easter will move them..."
If a settlement isn't reached by Monday, he said, "It's going to be a disaster for the university."
Malahoff, who heads several UH oceanographic and biotechnical programs, said he's been there a long time. "I have a passion for this university. I think it's a wonderful university; it's worth fighting to preserve it. That's why we're doing this."
Students rallying at the Capitol yesterday were growing more impatient as they waited for their semester to resume. About 100 students arrived in the morning, with many more joining them when UHPA members arrived after 2 p.m.
"We support the faculty but education is our first priority," said C. Mamo Kim, head of the Graduate Student Organization.
She said students have been disrespected by the state, the administration and the faculty union, and the faculty needs to recognize that they are teaching the state's future leaders.
"We're paying them, we're supporting them so they can teach us how to govern ourselves," she said.
Troy Baker, student body president at Honolulu Community College, said students are concerned. "It's getting near crunch time, where they're about to lose their semester."
"Could you imagine having to write research papers all over again for the same class, and not only having to pay for that class, but because of the tuition increase you're paying double?" he said, referring to a decision by the UH Board of Regents to increase tuition.
>> HSTA Web site
>> UHPA Web site
>> State Web site
>> Governor's strike Web site
>> DOE Web site