Dispassionate discourse needed to settle strike
By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Staff Writer
The buzz on the picket lines Friday was about an interview with Gov. Cayetano that appeared on the evening news the night before.
It wasn't so much what Cayetano said in the interview, but where he was interviewed: at the car show.
"What was he thinking?!" teachers wondered. "That's like President Mori playing golf after the Ehime Maru accident!"
What was Cayetano thinking? Was he simply being careless? He has never had much of an inclination toward managing his public image or cranking up the spin machine. Or was it intentional? Was it meant to show the teachers that he's not at home wringing his hands over the strike, he's out hitting every date on his calendar, business as usual?
The bottom line is that right now, when the teachers have crossed that line in the sand, public image is magnified. Everything Cayetano says and does is going to be held to close scrutiny, analyzed, and judged.
Of course, the same holds true for the members and leaders of the Hawai'i State Teachers Association. Right now, they're enjoying strong public support. People are honking their horns, joining in the picket lines, taping signs to their cars. Supporters are dropping off boxes of pastries at the picket lines in the morning, noodles for lunch and soda throughout the day. In fact, for politicians with their eye on re-election or political hopefuls, the picket line is quite the place to be seen (Hi Mazie!).
But that could change so quickly. The teachers have to make sure they don't appear greedy or belligerent, and that could get more difficult if the strike wears on and fear and frustration grow. Starting tomorrow, finding and paying for reliable day care becomes a lot more complicated for working families than dropping the kids off at auntie's for a couple of days. It will only take a few angry picket line incidents, a couple of slaps of a sign against the windshield of a car, for the tide to start to turn.
And though few people would dare to speak the words aloud at this point, there are whispers among closed company that the teachers should be willing to accept less than they're asking and raises based on professional development rather than simply seniority.
HSTA President Karen Ginoza is already talking compromise. She's saying in any negotiation, there has to be movement in both directions and implied that her union is willing to move down if the state is willing to move up.
On the other side, Cayetano is saying he'd like to give the teachers what they want, but the state simply doesn't have the money.
So the words from both sides, taken at face value, hold promise.
One of the difficult things in this situation is the lack of "good cops." Both sides have pretty good "bad cops." The state has Cayetano, unblinking and talking tough. The HSTA has both Ginoza and Husted dishing out heated words in the media. For the strike to be settled, for both sides to save face, cooler heads will have to prevail. Perhaps the face-to-face negotiations can't be held by the people who have exchanged angry words through the media, but by more dispassionate representatives who don't have a public image to worry about or manipulate.
Lee Cataluna's column appears Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Her e-mail address is lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.
