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Union rights should not
supersede school control

Management decisions that affect individual public school communities should be made at the school level; at least, that is the consensus of those who supported Act 51 last year and School Community Councils (SCCs).

However, Rep. Kirk Caldwell (D-Manoa), Rep. Dwight Takamine (D-Kohala), Sen. Brian Kanno (D-Makakilo) and Sen. Brian Taniguchi (D-Manoa) this session approved in conference committee Senate Bill 1352 SD1 HD1 CD1 by gutting language that provided for paid leaves of absence for state workers who are bone marrow donors and inserting language that would negate management's right to "hire, promote, transfer, assign and retain (public union) employees."

This reactionary bill follows the reaffirmation of management rights of state and county administrators under the Hawaii Supreme Court decision United Public Workers, AFSCME, Local 646, AFL-CIO v. Hannemann, 106 Hawaii 359 (2005).

To illustrate how this law would put special interests above the rights of a community, the Waialae Public Charter School Board recently decided to contract with a private food services provider for school meals after food service personnel left Waialae for other positions in the Department of Education. The award was based on the nutritional value of the meals, the service and because the provider agreed to integrate the food services program into the curriculum of the school.

According to sources at the school, the United Public Workers union subsequently charged the board with "unfair labor practices" because there are no UPW food services workers at the school. UPW claims this is a violation of an agreement between the UPW and the Board of Education.

Waialae School's troubles beg the question as to why the state BOE would enter into master agreements with unions that run contrary to Hawaii labor and education laws allowing schools flexibility and control to ensure that student learning takes precedence over adults' job security.

The DOE is rigidly controlled through union rules. The staffing of schools is determined by union contract, not by need. For example, the number of cafeteria workers in a school is determined by a formula agreed to with UPW. The task of each employee is specified through union rules.

Charter schools are intended to be free to determine employee needs, and Act 51 requires statewide enrollment ratio formulas to be replaced by 2006 at all other public schools using a weighted student formula.

However, the 2005-2007 contract between the state and the Hawaii State Teachers Association still contains required staffing formulas.

The contract also includes a Memorandum of Understanding requiring a fall-back process where Bargaining Unit 5 can vote to derail decisions made by School Community Councils.

A Memorandum of Understanding requires an SCC Exception Review Committee that gives decision-making authority to state-level DOE and union representatives.

Act 51, however, requires equal decision-making by all role groups on the individual school council.

Allowing the interests of one group to take precedence over all others and mandating negotiations over each and every transfer of employee, assignment and layoff only serves to provide greater power to the unions over management decisions.

If Governor Lingle signs SB 1352, the role of unions and union rules will supersede the role of management in leading public education toward excellence.

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