UH union
members OK
6-year contract
University of Hawaii faculty members have overwhelmingly approved a contract that will give them a 31 percent raise over six years.
According to a news release yesterday from the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly, 82 percent of those who voted approved the deal. The vote was 1,849 in favor and 398 opposed. Turnout was 65 percent of the membership.
The deal still needs to be funded by the state Legislature.
Gov. Linda Lingle said she expects the Legislature will fund the contract.
"I know those who talk about it say the university is important, it's an economic engine for the state, it's an important component of our future ability to diversify the economy," Lingle said yesterday.
UHPA President Mary Tiles said she hopes the contract is not caught up in a political battle between Democrats and Republicans. She said she is pleased and relieved by the vote and the margin of approval.
"It's not ambiguous," Tiles said. "It shows that the faculty thinks it's the right way to go."
Keanu Kikuchi, a junior at UH-Manoa, also applauded the deal.
"I think it's great because then I can graduate on time," Kikuchi said.
The approval means the semester will not be interrupted by a strike and will bring stability to the university for the next six years, Tiles said.
She said the agreement, especially because it is a long-term contract, will allow the university to attract new professors, although more needs to be done to bring salaries up to the level of peer institutions.
Some faculty members opposed the contract because the largest raises come in the last three years of the agreement and because they said it did not narrow the gap between professors' pay here vs. counterparts' salaries on the mainland.
The contract offers a 1 percent raise retroactive to July 1, a 3 percent raise this year and a 2 percent raise next year.
The largest raises -- 5 percent, 9 percent and 11 percent -- come in 2006 through 2008. The university will pay a share of the raises, probably financed in part through a tuition increase in 2006.
The contract will raise the pay of a full professor at UH-Manoa to $113,384 in 2008 from $86,553 last year.
Full professors at UH-Hilo and community colleges, who now earn from $60,000 to $63,000 a year, will make about $80,000 annually at the end of the contract.
The agreement also increases fees paid to lecturers and continuing-education instructors.
UH President Evan Dobelle issued a written statement after the ratification vote.
"I am deeply gratified by the support of everyone involved in ratifying this agreement," he said. "I believe it is the longest-term contract for public higher-education faculty across the country and gives UH faculty both validation and stability."
The cost of the six-year contract for the state is estimated at $124 million. The university is expected to contribute $39 million for salaries. Some of the university's share might be funded by a tuition increase of up to 10 percent in 2006.
Tiles said students are concerned about a tuition increase, but she noted some kind of tuition increase was likely for 2006 anyway.
Now there is "time for discussion and planning," she said.
Kikuchi said she and some of her friends would support a tuition increase.
"I feel as if our teachers are underpaid, and there are a lot of schools out there that are more expensive," she said. "If you want a quality education, then you have to pay for it."
UHPA represents 3,442 university employees. Voting took place Tuesday and Wednesday at 10 campuses statewide.
Star-Bulletin reporter Nelson Daranciang contributed to this report.BACK TO TOP |
Highlights of the deal
The agreement between negotiators with the University of Hawaii's faculty union and the state runs for six years. Under the proposed contract, professors' salaries will increase by:>> 1 percent in the first year, retroactive to July 1, 2003.
>> 3 percent in the second year.
>> 2 percent in the third year.
>> 5 percent in the fourth year, of which the state will contribute 4 percent and the university will put in 1 percent.
>> 9 percent in the fifth year, of which the state is responsible for 6 percent.
>> 11 percent in the sixth year, of which the state will contribute 8 percent.
The costs
>> The contract's cost to the state: $124 million
>> The contract's cost to the university: $39 million
Source: University of Hawaii Professional Assembly
