By Alice Keesing
Advertiser Education Writer
Tensions are mounting and education officials are planning for the worst with Hawai‘i’s teachers poised for a strike vote on Wednesday.
| At a glance
 The union is seeking a 22 percent raise over four years, which includes across-the-board raises of 10 percent and step increases of 12 percent.
The state’s last offer averages a 12 percent increase, ranging from 10 to 20 percent. It ties in accountability, licensure and includes $5,000 extra a year for teachers who gain national certification.
Teachers currently earn between $29,000 and $58,000.
The issues: The union says Hawai‘i is facing a teacher shortage crisis and the state needs to improve pay to boost recruitment and retention. The state says its offer does boost pay for new teachers, but it has only a limited amount of money and wants to tie any pay raise to improving performance.
The Hawai‘i State Teachers Association represents nearly 13,000 public school teachers statewide.
Hawai‘i’s teachers have been without a contract since January 1999.
In the last round of contract talks in 1997, teachers were within hours of striking when a deal was reached. That contract provided a 17 percent increase but added seven days to the school calendar.
The last time teachers walked off the job was April 1973. That strike lasted 19 days. |
Negotiations have been deadlocked since November. The union last week rejected the state’s latest offer, saying it was no better than previous offers.
"Emotions are running very high," said Kailua High teacher Mike McAfee, who worries what effect that’s having on the students.
As the situation escalates, teachers around the state are going to school wearing their solidarity T-shirts and waving signs streetside after class. They’re dealing with the nagging problems of how to pay the bills if they go on strike and the emotional strains of the picket line.
But "the teachers are angry, and they’re ready and willing to walk, to do whatever it takes to settle the contract," said Danielle Lum, Hawai‘i State Teachers Association spokeswoman.
The union is expecting a large turnout at Wednesday’s strike vote. The union must give 10 days notice before teachers walk off the job, which is not expected to happen until early April.
Just as the teachers are mobilizing, so is the Department of Education. While officials continue to hope a strike will be averted, they have been meeting every week since January on a response plan. They have briefed school principals, the military, the governor and the Board of Education. Letters will be sent home with students over the next two weeks to tell parents what to expect and how to prepare.
In all the uncertainty, one thing is clear: if teachers go on the picket line, it will have widespread ramifications for the state.
A drawn-out strike could jeopardize the department’s efforts to meet a December deadline to comply with a federal court order to improve special education services. It could derail efforts to overhaul the education system with the implementation of new standards. And it could put graduation requirements in doubt for thousands of seniors.
It also would leave parents looking for childcare for more than 183,000 students.
The department is advising parents to begin considering alternative childcare.
Schools would likely be closed for at least the first day of a strike, according to deputy superintendent Pat Hamamoto, although non-union employees are still required to work. That includes administration, clerical and food service, security attendants, education assistants and custodians.
Principals would make an assessment on that first day of how many teachers have reported to work and if the school can open its doors to students.
"If health or safety become an issue, schools will not be open," Hamamoto said.
HSTA Executive Director Joan Husted said the union is advising parents not to take students to school because there will not be enough staff to provide appropriate supervision. However, picket lines will not bar parents or students access to campuses, she said.
The department also is working on other contingency plans.
"There are a lot more media and telecommunications strategies that are open to us that weren’t previously," Hamamoto said.
Department staff are putting together lessons that can be accessed over the Web-based E-School and E-Academy or broadcast over the ‘Olelo television channel, she said.
The Hawai‘i Parents Teachers Students Association also is gearing up for the possibility of a strike, preparing guidance and tips for parents.
But first, the association is urging both sides to find a resolution.
"A strike is not beneficial for anybody, but it hurts those who have the least voice — the children — the most," said PTSA President John Friedman.
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