State agrees to maintain teacher health benefits for now

By Ronna Bolante and Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writers

The state and the public school teachers' union will delay going to court over striking teachers' health benefits until a contract settlement is reached, the two sides said today.

All members of the Hawai'i State Teachers Association will continue to receive health benefits during the strike, Gov. Ben Cayetano said.

"This issue has been somewhat troublesome to us, and that's why we have moved to set it aside," Cayetano said. "It's getting in the way of the negotiations as a whole."

Both sides will be able to contest or litigate the issue of health benefits once an agreement is reached, Cayetano said.

"Should the court decide the issue in favor of the state, the state will seek reimbursement from the employee for the cost of the health plan which the state will be advancing during this period," Cayetano said. "When we moved on this issue, we believed and we still believe that the employer should not pay for these beneifts while the employee is on strike from the logical, commonsense point of view."

Cayetano has said Hawai'i's 12,000 striking teachers are on "unauthorized leave of absence" and therefore are not eligible for health benefits.

Public school teachers planned to go to court today asking that their health benefits be continued if a settlement is not reached by Thursday in their 12-day-old strike.

The motion filed by the Hawai'i State Teachers Association sought to block Gov. Ben Cayetano from canceling health insurance for striking teachers.

Members of the striking faculty union take a break in their picketing at Kapiolani Community College to pick up paychecks. Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

"You're always hopeful whenever the parties are in the same place," Husted said of the mediation talks.

Davis Yogi, the state's chief negotiator, said money continues to be a stumbling block. "You have to come up with a product before you can put a price on it," he said of the impasse.

The University of Hawai'i faculty union will meet with the state and a federal mediator tomorrow.

Yogi reiterated the state's position that budget cuts will be necessary to pay for any pay increase.

"It's not so much stealing from Peter to pay Paul," he said. "It's stealing from Peter, Paul and Mary."

UHPA paychecks

Striking faculty members, meanwhile, picked up paychecks for the last few days before they struck April 5. The checks were distributed at several sites, including the Church of the Crossroads and Diamond Head Theatre.

Governor's live chat

Cayetano, meanwhile, plans to hold a live chat on the teacher and faculty strikes tomorrow from 7 to 8 p.m. at http://strike.hawaii.gov.

Hawaii Public Radio's Beth-Ann Koziovich will moderate. The chat will also be webcast by PixelWorld Networks. For more information, call 586-0102.