After Deadline
Strikes offer chance for everyone to learn
By John Simonds
The Advertiser's reader representative
A strike of public school teachers and university professors offers a learning experience for readers and an opportunity for their newspaper to share in the lessons.
The Advertiser has been covering the education strikes that began April 5 with a team of 15 reporters, photographers and editors, including three writers assigned full time. Mark Platte, assistant managing editor, heads the team, assisted by Dan Woods, assistant city editor.
Readers — some calling the newsroom, others the reader rep at 525-8033 — seem eager for information. They ask about strike issues, details of proposals by all sides, reasons for impasses in the bargaining, insights into the negotiating scenario and more about the people behind the posturing.
One caller wanted more reported about the benefits teachers already receive. Her point was that by detailing existing contract provisions, The Advertiser could give a more complete picture of teachers' current pay levels.
Platte agrees. "We do need to get something more comprehensive about that in the paper and do a better job of explaining what teachers get under their contracts now."
It's one of several points raised by readers that The Advertiser will pursue amid the daily events of the Hawai'i State Teachers Association and University of Hawai'i Professional Assembly strikes.
A major work stoppage presents a chance to update public awareness of how state and federal labor laws work. Some motorists seeking access to jobs or classes clashed with pickets at the UH campus.
Police voiced concern that each day the strike lasted would add tension. Even strike supporters questioned attempted exclusion of students or workers in other unions. A refresher may be needed on the ground rules for pickets and traffic.
Another caller wanted to know when the state would reach the point where the money it saved by not paying strikers would be enough to cover the increases sought by the unions. It's a budget arithmetic question that might be worth computing.
A reader asked for a more detailed picture of university pay levels, including reporting on the number of UHPA members who, he said, make less than the $30,000 annual pay referred to in news coverage as the bottom level. The caller said it would put the UH wage picture in a different light.
Still another caller suggested the newspaper explain how to impeach the governor. The caller urged it as a political remedy to what appeared to be a personality-driven deadlock. The Advertiser reported last Sunday that, to many, the governor is the central issue in both strikes.
If impeachment sounds extreme, what are more practical legal initiatives available to either side, including outside mediation or court orders?
A reader expressing national concerns urged more coverage of the country's shortage of public school teachers, a situation reflected in Hawai'i, where teachers have been recruited by other states.
How to help those affected by a strike without taking sides is a challenge in a close community. Aloha United Way provides information on child-care services and financial aid referral. These are available to all, but the timing of an AUW news release led to a Page One listing of them as help for strikers.
AUW said it was "inundated with calls" asking why AUW was supporting the teachers. The Advertiser published a clarification last Sunday.
A water company was not donating free water to striking teachers, as reported in a photo caption on April 10. As an Advertiser correction noted, Hawai'i's Democratic Party paid for it.
