State, striking teachers 'very, very firm in their resolve'

By Alice Keesing
Advertiser Education Writer

With both sides dug in, the strike by Hawai'i's public school teachers will probably drag into next week with no easily predictable end in sight.

Moses Miranda, left, spent yesterday at Ala Moana Center with friend Guilliano Costello and sister Josephine Miranda. Moses, 13, was responsible for calling his father, who was at work, throughout the day. Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

Less than 1 percent of public school teachers crossed the line yesterday, according to the Hawai'i State Teachers Association, which is predicting there won't be enough staff to fully reopen schools Monday.

With the continuing deadlock, the strike now becomes a waiting game.

"I will say that it appears to me that both parties — I've spoken with both — are very, very firm in their resolve," said schools chief Paul LeMahieu, who spent the day visiting schools, gauging the status of the strike.

Neither side anticipates talks will resume before next week, and Gov. Ben Cayetano said it is the union's move.

"Right now, I think that we need some cooling off time and give the union some time to reflect on some of the issues we have presented to them," he said.

About 40 percent of the e-mail pouring into the governor's office was supportive yesterday, Cayetano said.

"The sentiment is beginning to shift," he said. "Ever since we put out our ads and we had the television address, the public's beginning to better understand what the situation is: that our proposals are based on merit and performance, and the overwhelming majority of the public favors that."

But the union also said it's receiving huge support.

"The community support has been wonderful," said HSTA Executive Director Joan Husted. "We had people handing over $100 checks, $250 checks, to buy refreshments, to buy water. We have parents all over the place on picket lines. The labor unions have been stopping at the picket lines and unloading their loads at the gate."

As both sides know, public support will be a key factor in determining how long the strike lasts.

"They're each waiting for pressure on their respective constituencies to build," said attorney Jared Jossem, who specializes in labor law.

Balancing interests

The governor must balance the interests of taxpayers and legislators, the well being of children and the inconvenience to parents, he said. The teachers have to hold out against their dwindling bank accounts.

"It's really hard to gauge the effect of a strike until the employees have lost a complete paycheck," Jossem said. "Once the rent is due and the car payment is due then people have to really do a cost-benefit analysis and see if it's worth the sacrifice."

Public school teachers picked up their pay checks on Tuesday, not knowing when they will be paid again. The next official pay day is April 20 — two weeks away.

Craig Takayama, a fifth-grade teacher at Maui's Kahului School, said teachers are ready to go all-out to get what they believe they deserve.

"As a whole, the attitude is positive, although everyone's pretty sad it's come to this point," he said.

The union does not have a strike fund to help picketing teachers. "We're a very large unit and the sheer cost of managing a strike fund would mean we would have to significantly increase our dues," Husted said.

Because striking is not a weapon of choice for teachers, Husted said the union has chosen to put its money into programs for teachers instead.

To help teachers get by, the union is activating a $4 million crisis loan program at First Hawaiian Bank. The loans are underwritten by the National Education Association and the HSTA, who pay the interest. Teachers in the greatest need are given priority, Husted said.

Meanwhile, school principals will today continue to assess how many staff members they have and if schools can open next week. The Department of Education will post the status of every school by 4:30 p.m. on Sunday.

It will not be business-as-usual by any degree, LeMahieu said, but classes may be possible on a grade-by-grade basis.

Crossing the line

The HSTA said 126 teachers crossed the line yesterday. The department puts the number at 247; about 2 percent of the work force.

Many schools have 100 percent of their teachers on the picket line, Husted said, although some senior teachers crossed the line in the Honolulu district.

Emotions flared at the gates to Farrington High School early in the day when some teachers reported for work.

Acting principal Myron Monte said he had heard that the teachers, "more than two and less than 10," who crossed the line, were long-time teachers nearing retirement who believed that being out on strike would represent a break in service and reduce their retirement benefits.

The union said that was a mistaken interpretation of retirement benefit rules.

But Monte said teachers who remember the 1973 strike are aware that those who stayed out on strike longest lost some seniority in the process, in some cases they ended up striking to improve the pay of colleagues who later got choice assignments because they had a few more days of service on their record.

Children No. 1 concern

Aside from some other minor friction between pickets and delivery people, LeMahieu said the first day of the strike was calm.

However, he said he was concerned by reports that students were being encouraged to join the picket line.

"The only thing I hope is that children should not be used as pawns in this conflict," LeMahieu said. "This is a dispute amongst adults, and children have no place in it except that they should be No. 1 in our concerns."

LeMahieu said he respects the HSTA's position that children should not join the picket line unless they are with their parents.

Hawai'i's teachers have been working without a contract since January 2000. They have been standing firm on a 22 percent salary increase. The governor, however, says the state cannot afford that. The state's last offer would have given teachers a 14 percent raise.

But with teachers on the picket line, that offer is off the table.

"We've kind of gone back to ground zero," Husted said.

Advertiser staff writers Ronna Bolante, Timothy Hurley and Walter Wright contributed to this report.