[ OUR OPINION ]
Civil service reforms
need to be restoredAS the upcoming Legislature faces important challenges that could put a strain on the state's budget, a top priority should be stopping public employee unions from being the first in line at the coffers. Governor Lingle has been joined by Republican legislators in endorsing a measure that would bring an end to large, automatic pay raises for nonessential city and state employees.
THE ISSUE
Hawaii GOP lawmakers want to rescind binding arbitration of contract disputes for non-essential public employees.
A state employees strike in 1979 prompted legislators to submit labor contract disagreements to binding arbitration, in return for unions forfeiting their right to strike. The deal resulted in excessive pay raises for union members, at the expense of programs for the poor and disadvantaged.
At former Gov. Ben Cayetano's urging, the 2001 Legislature enacted civil-service reforms restoring the right to strike and ending binding arbitration for all city and state employees except workers essential to public health and safety. With Cayetano gone and unions exerting pressure, last year's Legislature restored binding arbitration for non-essential employees, and then override Lingle's veto.
The experience of arbitration has been that unions ask for double what they want and arbitrators give them half of what they ask. The result could threaten efforts to improve Hawaii's school system and combat the use of crystal methamphetamine, among other needs.
Arbitrators recently approved yearly pay raises of 5 percent in a two-year contract covering 2,600 essential prison guards, emergency workers and licensed nurses. That is likely to be cited in other arbitrations affecting tens of thousands of public employees, making it impossible to meet critical needs without tax increases. Arbitrators should not continue to have the authority to cause havoc to the state's fiscal condition.
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UH, Houston rioters
get proper penaltiesSHAMED by an outburst of violence at the end of its Hawaii Bowl game on Christmas Day against Houston, University of Hawaii officials have acted responsibly in punishing the players involved. The university seems to have learned from the experience as it should have from a similar riot at the end of a regular season game against the University of Cincinnati in 2002.
THE ISSUE
The universities of Hawaii and Houston have decided to discipline football players involved in a post-Hawaii Bowl brawl.
Officials from both the Hawaii and Houston athletic programs reviewed videotapes of the 10-minute brawl viewed nationally on ESPN in determining who was to blame. Hawaii's Nkeruwem "Tony" Akpan, Alika Durington, Laiana Wong, Larry Sauafea and Orlando Wong will be required to sit out one game each next season, while senior Shayne Kajioka will be disciplined in a way yet to be determined. Seven other players will be reprimanded and may have to take part in anger management courses or community service.
The University of Houston also will discipline some of its players, although its athletic director, Dave Maggard, said, "The number of players, names and nature of the discipline will not be made public."
Both schools seem to place part of the blame on emotions gone out of control. Hawaii Coach June Jones said game officials should have put a stop to taunting during the game. Maggard told the Houston Chronicle, "While an extremely hostile environment both on the field and in the stands instigated the postgame incident, we cannot condone even a few of our players retaliating."
It has long been observed that the football player penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct usually is the one caught retaliating, not the one who threw the first punch. Coaches and players should know better than to rationalize striking back, both during the game and afterward.
