No new money put on table in HSTA talks
| • | Walkout threatens semester at UH |
| • | Kane'ohe parents form 'home school' |
| • | Special report: The Teacher Contract Crisis |
By Alice Keesing and Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writers
There were no breakthroughs last night as negotiators for the state and teachers union met with a federal mediator. But after a session described as "productive," they agreed to keep talking.
The two sides will meet again at 4 p.m. Monday with the mediator.
When yesterday's session concluded after some 5 1/2 hours, Joan Husted, executive director of the Hawai'i State Teachers Association, said she couldn't say more because the mediator had imposed a news blackout.
The meeting came as the ninth day of the teachers strike drew to a close, and the result assures that the walkout will stretch into its second full week.
Going into the session, the chance of a breakthrough appeared remote as Davis Yogi, the state's chief negotiator, disclosed that the governor had not authorized him to put more money on the table.
Yogi said the parties would discuss the numbers they have been working on since their Tuesday meeting but he could not offer more money.
Yesterday was the first time the two sides had sat down with the help of a mediator since December. They have met informally since then, most recently on Tuesday.
The two sides are facing increasing pressure to settle the contract. U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye last week met with Gov. Ben Cayetano to discuss the deadlock, and a federal judge this week said he will intervene if the strike is not settled by the end of next week.
Meanwhile, the state and teachers union continued their public argument about their differences. The two sides have run dueling newspaper advertisements about the state's offer of March 8 and what it would have meant to Hawai'i's teachers.
On Wednesday, Cayetano ran a full-page advertisement that said the March 8 offer would have given teachers raises between 10 and 17 percent. It said that would have placed Hawai'i's teachers among the top 10 highest-paid teachers in the nation.
Yesterday, the union responded with its own advertisement saying the governor is basing his claim on old data and that Hawai'i's teachers are the lowest-paid in the nation when adjusted for the cost of living.
