Cayetano Gov. Ben Cayetano is asking the Hawaii Labor Relations Board to enforce the oral -- not written -- agreement between the state and the teachers union during negotiations that ended a statewide strike in the spring.
returns fire over
teacher bonus
10 days after HSTA filed a
complaint, the gov files a response
and his own complaintBy Crystal Kua
ckua@starbulletin.comIn a complaint filed late yesterday against the Hawaii State Teachers Association, the governor alleges that the union's refusal to execute the oral agreement constitutes a prohibited labor practice.
Cayetano says the union has refused to bargain in good faith, breached the collective-bargaining agreement and refused to comply with state law covering written agreements, according to the complaint.
The filing of the state's complaint comes after the HSTA filed its own prohibited-practice complaint on Aug. 14.
The union is asking the labor board to implement the written agreement, ratified by its members on April 24.
The contract dispute stems from a negotiated 3 percent differential for teachers with advanced degrees.
The HSTA is arguing that the contract's written language -- which says the bonuses are to be paid "each year," or twice during the remaining two years of the contract -- should prevail.
The governor and the state's negotiating team, however, have argued that the written provision does not embody what was agreed to at the bargaining table, which was a one-time payment.
State officials said a one-time bonus would now cost $9.7 million. Under the written language, the state would be paying close to $20 million.
The state also filed a response to the HSTA's complaint yesterday, asking the board to dismiss the union's complaint because, in part, the written agreement is not binding because the disputed provision was the result of HSTA's "unilateral change" from the oral agreement reached through negotiations.
HSTA Executive Director Joan Husted said last night that she has not seen the state's filings.
"They say we have an oral agreement. We say we have a written agreement," Husted said. "I'm gratified that the state has now acknowledged that there's an agreement."
The governor has said that the contract remains unenforceable because he has not signed off on it yet.
Husted said the union will review the filings once they have been served.
"We will look at it very carefully, and then we'll take the next step," Husted said.
The holdup in implementing the contract has led to a delay in teachers receiving negotiated pay raises and a $1,100 retention bonus.
Both sides have indicated that they will appeal the labor board ruling if the decision goes against them.
>> HSTA Web site
>> State Web site
>> Governor's strike Web site
>> DOE Web site
