Governor says strike's end near; teachers less optimistic

By Alice Keesing
Advertiser Education Writer

As the threat of federal court intervention looms over the 16-day teachers' strike, Gov. Ben Cayetano said he anticipates a settlement as early as today.

But after nearly 12 hours of talks yesterday, the union did not share that optimism.

"We're not ready to call it quits yet. But I'm less optimistic now than I was this morning," said Joan Husted, chief negotiator for the Hawaii State Teachers Association, as the parties left the Federal Building about 1:20 a.m. today.

Husted declined to elaborate on the negotiations, and said one hindrance has been "leaks going on in the media."

Both sides will resume negotiations at 9 a.m. today, Husted said.

Earlier, chief state negotiator Davis Yogi said both sides were headed for "the final push," while the governor said he believed a settlement was possible today even though there still was a lot of work to do.

In contrast, the union said the two sides were still too far apart.

"I don't think we're that close to settlement," said Husted said earlier yesterday. "But we're going to work real hard."

Husted did say that if the state agrees to the new proposal presented by the union yesterday, then the two sides would be "well on the way to settlement."

If the two sides did agree on a package today, the HSTA board could consider the contract tomorrow and send it out for a ratification vote Sunday. If teachers accepted the contract, schools could reopen Monday or Tuesday.

If the strike is not resolved by Tuesday, the state and union may have the matter taken out of their hands by the federal court.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge David Ezra will hear a motion to appoint a receiver to ensure that services are restored to Hawai'i's 20,000 special-needs students who have been without care during the strike.

Ezra has the authority to intervene because of the Felix consent decree, which orders the state to improve special-education services by December. Those involved with the Felix case say the strike has seriously damaged the state's ability to meet that deadline.

"I'm trying to settle this so we can avoid visiting the judge's chambers," Yogi said. "Our intent was always to try and settle this as soon as possible, but I think with the special master, Jeff Portnoy, coming to visit both parties in mediation (Wednesday), I think that might have helped both parties to really look at things clearly."

Portnoy represents Ezra in the Felix case.

The teachers' contract is the last labor dispute the state has to resolve, but it's also the toughest. The two sides were at least $100 million apart when teachers walked off the job two weeks ago. And retroactive pay is a major hurdle that neither side appears ready to concede.

"I'm hoping the teachers notice one common thing about the three contracts (already settled)," Cayetano said. "UPW, HGEA and UHPA all do not have retroactive raises."

But Husted said retroactivity is a requirement for settlement. Teachers want to be paid for the two years they worked without a contract, but the state is offering money for only the last two years of the four-year deal.

The governor also reiterated his desire to tie pay raises to professional development. He has asked for similar changes in all public employee contracts in an effort to improve state efficiency.

"It's a very important part of our contract," he said. "We don't want the contract with the teachers to be just a labor contract. It has to provide something in there that will make the teachers get better."

Both sides met face-to-face for the first time yesterday, Husted said. Previously they stayed in separate rooms, communicating through a federal mediator.

Advertiser staff writers Yasmin Anwar and Ronna Bolante contributed to this report.