State, teachers Less than two years after a strike shut down Hawaii's public schools, the state and the teachers union have reached an impasse in efforts to forge a new contract.
deadlocked on
new contract
The teachers say they are
concerned about attempts
to change their work conditionsBy Susan Essoyan
sessoyan@starbulletin.com"We had hoped, through the last contract, that we would see some labor peace," Karen Ginoza, president of the Hawaii State Teachers Association, said yesterday. "What we have been offered is a very, very regressive package."
The state says the dispute centers on money, and it simply cannot afford to pay teachers more than the 16 percent raise they won after going on strike in April 2001. That two-year contract, which expires at the end of June, brings average teacher salaries up to $45,600 annually.
The teachers contend that they recognize the state's fiscal straits and are more concerned with efforts to alter their working conditions than with salaries. The Department of Education wants to increase classroom instructional time, and offered no pay raise for either year of the proposed contract, which would run through June 2005.
"Two years of the status quo is a sacrifice, but it is a realistic offer in this economic environment," said Ted Hong, the state's chief negotiator.
With the declaration of an impasse yesterday, the next step is 20 days of voluntary mediation. That will be followed, if necessary, by mandatory mediation. HSTA represents 13,000 public school teachers.
Hong has his hands full as the Lingle administration juggles negotiations with 13 bargaining units of public employee unions. It is already in mediation or arbitration with the other 12, from nurses to correctional officers. (See chart.)
"We're asking the unions to allow our governor to put our financial house in order," Hong said, pointing to the looming prospect of war and "dismal revenue projections."
HSTA officials bristled at state efforts to remove incentives for teachers to get advanced degrees and National Board certification, as well as their negotiated rights to determine work conditions and schedules. Such moves will only exacerbate the teacher shortage, Ginoza warned.
"All the gains that we have made over the years through bargaining are now listed as take-aways," Ginoza said. "What the department is doing is treating teachers like tall children. They want to take away the decision-making powers of the teachers in the school."
The HSTA contract calls for an 80 percent approval by teachers at a given school on decisions such as lengthening the school day. The state has proposed a lower threshold -- a simple majority vote -- on such decisions. But union officials say the higher threshold is necessary to ensure that teachers truly support changes and to ensure the whole school is working together. Hong argued that it can lead to a "tyranny of the minority," with a handful of teachers blocking changes.
Along with exploring the possibility of a longer student day and flexible work time for teachers, the state also wants to adopt a uniform year-round calendar.
Although the HSTA would not discuss its money proposals, Hong said the union had held out for 15 percent across-the-board raises over two years until just before the negotiation deadline expired late Friday. It then tendered an offer for 3 percent in each of the two years of the proposed contract.
The two sides began meeting in December. Both parties say they hope mediation will bring an agreement and that another strike can be avoided. In April 2001, public education ground to a halt across the state when both public school teachers and the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly went on strike. The professors returned to work after 13 days, while the teachers stayed out for 20 days.
State Department of Education
Hawaii State Teachers Association
