Teachers call drug tests a deal-breaker for state
Entry-level instructors would earn $43,000 under the contract up for a vote Thursday
Public school teachers questioning why drug testing was included in their new contract are being told the state made the item a "non-negotiable demand."
A video posted on the Hawaii State Teachers Association's Web site says the state made drug testing a prerequisite to settle a contract giving about 13,000 teachers 4 percent raises in each of the next two years.
On Wednesday, HSTA President Roger Takabayashi was the only member of the union's board of directors to vote against sending the contract for ratification. Twenty-six members backed the contract and one abstained.
The state made drug and alcohol testing of public school teachers "a non-negotiable demand" when settling on a new contract last week, according to the Hawaii State Teachers Association.
If the teachers union had objected to drug testing, the state would not have agreed to a tentative contract offering some 13,000 teachers 4 percent raises in each of the next two years and other benefits, according to a video posted on the HSTA Web site.
The video answers 16 questions about the contract, two of which deal with the proposed test by asking, "How did random drug testing become a bargaining issue?" and, "How are you going to protect teachers' rights under random drug testing?"
In the video, Lilian Yamasaki, chairwoman of the negotiations committee for the union, said removing the drug-testing provision was not an option.
"The employer made this a non-negotiable demand," she said. "In order to get a pay raise and the other items, random drug testing had to be part of the collective bargaining agreement."
Without giving details, Yamasaki said the union and the state would devise a drug-testing program that would protect teachers' rights.
State chief negotiator Marie Laderta would not comment on why the administration wanted drug testing.
The proposed contract would pay an entry-level teacher with a bachelor's degree a little more than $43,000 and bring the top teacher salary to more than $79,000, according to the union.
On Wednesday, HSTA President Roger Takabayashi was the only member of the union's board of directors to vote against sending the contract for ratification. Twenty-six members backed the contract and one abstained.
It is unclear how teachers would be tested for drugs. The contract requires the testing to start by the 2008-09 school year.
The Department of Education currently tests about 30 bus drivers and 25 physical therapists who work with deaf and blind students, as well as a few auto mechanics instructors, said spokesman Greg Knudsen. While the urine tests cost about $35 each, he said it is a minimal cost to a department that hires as many as 50,000 workers.
"It is not even a significant cost at this point," Knudsen said, "but it would be when applied to a base of 13,000 teachers."
Carl Linden, scientific director for Diagnostic Laboratory Services Inc., which tested Honolulu police officers for drugs until last year, said companies often test between 15 percent and 20 percent of their work force. To meet that mark, the department would have to test about 2,600 teachers annually, which could cost taxpayers about $91,000.
Teachers will vote on the contract Thursday afternoon. If the vote fails, the union likely will miss a legislative deadline to submit the contract to lawmakers to fund pay raises, and the HSTA would have to go back to the bargaining table with the state.
