Frustrated UH faculty walk off campuses
By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer
Armed with sunscreen, signs and resolve, University of Hawai'i faculty members on all 10 campuses walked the picket lines yesterday and drastically reduced the number of classes in the state's only public system of higher education.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
About 90 percent of the faculty members walked off the job in protest of nearly two years with no contract and the seemingly endless downward spiral of their university, which has been hit hard with budget problems in recent years.
With college classes cancelled and schools closed, students, from left, Cathy Takeda, Shayna Soma, Paige Soma and Kris Nakasone enjoyed a day at Ala Moana Beach.
Professors wore white "On Strike" shirts, donned matching baseball caps and walked dogs, pushed baby strollers and waved gratefully to honking drivers as they methodically marched in circles at campus entrances.
Campuses around the state appeared virtually empty, as a limited number of students and faculty members crossed the picket lines, and many people dropped off bottled water and food for the strikers.
"I'm sorry we have to come to this," said Lucia Aranda, assistant professor of Spanish at Manoa. She marched with her daughters, ages 8 and 10, whose schools also were shut down by the public school teachers strike.
Informal talks between the University of Hawai'i Professional Assembly and the state broke off Wednesday night and are not expected to resume soon.
"The next two days and into the weekend is a time for people to have some reflection on their side and our side," said Davis Yogi, the governor's chief negotiator. "That has to take its course. People are too upbeat now and in your face."
Some classes held
At the Manoa campus, 88 percent of UHPA faculty members were on strike and picketed 17 locations on campus. Of the 160 people declared to be essential workers, 10 did not show up for work, and of 1,312 classes scheduled yesterday, 368, or 28 percent, were actually taught.
At the community colleges, 90 percent of the faculty honored the picket lines, and fewer than 10 percent of all scheduled classes were held.
"There's so much solidarity," said Alex Malahoff, president of the faculty union. "It's too much for the governor. He can't keep playing these games."
Participation in the strike was 95 percent at UH-West O'ahu, where two of 41 faculty members signed in to teach. At UH-Hilo, 87 percent of the faculty honored the picket lines. Picket lines formed by 6 a.m. and would extend as late as 8 p.m. on some campuses.
"It's markedly quiet," said Alan Teramura, senior vice president of research and dean of the graduate division, who checked to see if strikers needed food or water. "It's mostly employees and vendors who have to be here."
Tension at Manoa
Tensions ran high in the early morning on the Manoa campus, where some professors shouted at students who crossed the picket lines on their way to class.
"I'm coming to classes because my classes are taught by a (teachers' assistant) who's not in the union," said Pat Le, a junior studying computer science. "If they don't teach, they don't get paid."
By mid-morning, though, the atmosphere had quieted.
Strikers carried a 16-foot puppet skeleton around the perimeter of campus. Its black cap and gown bore the words "Public Education" and it carried a baby in one hand with "Hawai'i's future" written on its diaper.
Associate professor of art Debra Drexler spent two nights making the giant puppet. She said she is striking to stop the university's decline. Since she has been at Manoa, her department has decreased from 29 full-time faculty members to 21.
"It's a sad day in the history of Hawai'i that all public education has come to a halt," she said.
Some students joined the picketing professors, trying to dissuade others from going to class.
Trisha Watson, a first-year law student, drove up to the Manoa campus with a box of malasadas and a passenger's seat full of cups of iced coffee from Starbucks for those on strike. "My dad is HGEA," Watson explained. "It's important."
Other students walked out of their dorms and past the picket lines on Dole Street, waving, smiling and carrying boogie boards on their way to the bus stop. "Don't worry," shouted one student. "We're going to the beach. We're not going on campus."
Governor's offer
The governor Wednesday increased his pay increase offer from 10 percent to 11 percent, but said the university would have to contribute 2 percent of those raises from its general fund budget.
UHPA has asked for 12 percent across the board, plus 1 percent in merit pay. It also wants raises for lecturers, the lowest paid of all university faculty members, which the state's package did not include. The contract would not have been retroactive to 1999, meaning that faculty members would not be compensated for the two years they have gone without a contract.
UH President Kenneth Mortimer said he had hoped the strike would be averted to avoid hurting the students and faculty, and was willing to kick in the 2 percent for faculty raises to avoid a walkout. "I understand and I support the need for a substantial raise," Mortimer said. "Nobody is happy about the need to take this kind of action. We know the faculty are out there reluctantly."
No union members crossed the lines at Kaua'i Community College, said UHPA picket captain Jim McFarland, a psychology teacher. He said only a handful of students entered the school, as did instructors who work less than half time.
Troy Baker, 31, Honolulu Community College student body president, stayed out of class in support of the striking professors even though he is scheduled to graduate this semester. "It's looking gloomy," he said. Students crossed the line to get to classes taught by part-time instructors not in the faculty union, he said. "Students don't want to cross the line, but they don't want to flunk either."
Support for pickets
At Windward Community College, faculty members picketed in six-hour shifts. Many took off their watches to make the time pass more quickly, and students, staff and members of the public dropped off bottled water, doughnuts and juice. When a light drizzle began to fall, they broke out giant patio umbrellas to protect themselves, but the mood remained light.
"We're here and we plan to stay," said Paul Field, history professor. "The campus is shut down."
Other campuses loaned strikers to the community college to keep the picket lines staffed: WCC has just 45 full-time faculty members.
Kelley Starry, a career counselor at WCC for 16 years, last participated in picket lines as a student in 1983 during a two-day UH strike. "I think it's very discouraging that the offer from the state has been really insulting," Starry said. "We have far more to lose than we have to gain at this point."
Student employee Jody Storm parked away from the Windward campus and walked to her job so she wouldn't disturb the picket line.
"I really support the instructors," Storm said. "As a student, it's not really about us. It's between the governor and the faculty. The prospect of losing the semester is pretty horrifying."
Storm carried her books to her job, predicting that on an empty campus, she will have plenty of time to work on her assignments during the strike.
Staff writers Brandon Masuoka and Christie Wilson contributed to this report.
