Teachers union plans to make formal contract offer; settlement delayed

By Alice Keesing
Advertiser Education Writer

Hopes for a settlement this weekend to the teachers strike faded today with no face-to-face meetings scheduled between the state and Hawai'i State Teachers Association.

The union expected to make a formal offer to the state today and await a response, but the delay in working out an agreement means that the earliest schools could open would be Tuesday, and chances of that happening appear slimmer as each hour passes without a settlement.

Despite 16 hours of talks that ended yesterday with both sides apparently agreeing on a tentative settlement, negotiators were still unable to reach a deal in the 17-day Hawai'i teachers' strike.

HSTA chief negotiator Joan Husted leaves afternoon talks with a scroll in hand. Union president Karen Ginoza is at left. Richard Ambo •The Honolulu Advertiser

Then, about 2:30 p.m., Gov. Ben Cayetano met with representatives of the Hawai'i State Teachers Association for their first face-to-face discussions about specific contract details.

Two hours later, instead of a settlement, Cayetano said he had put another offer on the table for the teachers to study.

"That's all I can say ... I'm not going to make any more predictions" about when the strike would end, Cayetano said. On Thursday, the governor said the strike could be over the next day.

After the meeting with Cayetano and other members of his negotiating team, Joan Husted, HSTA's executive director, left carrying a roll of paper.

The sides had come to agreement on "concepts, but not the numbers," said Husted, who was accompanied by HSTA President Karen Ginoza.

At that point Cayetano left the Capitol, as did U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie and former schools chief Charles Toguchi, who have been helping the state's chief negotiator Davis Yogi in the settlement talks. Yogi took advantage of the rare break in the proceedings to spend time with his family.

The HSTA board of directors assembled at the union headquarters at 5 p.m. yesterday in anticipation of a deal. But instead of deciding whether to send a completed package out for a ratification vote today by the teachers, they found themselves mulling yet another offer.

With no formal talks planned, both sides said they were "on call" and would communicate by phone and fax if needed.

The union arranged to use facilities around the state today, including the Stan Sheriff Center, where teachers could vote on whether to accept the contract. To cover all contingencies, the union booked the arena through Thursday.

U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie and former schools chief Charles Toguchi, who have been helping the state's chief negotiator in the settlement talks, attended yesterday afternoon's session. Richard Ambo •The Honolulu Advertiser

"We are definitely anxious to get students back in class," said department spokesman Greg Knudsen.

The sticking point appears to be retroactive pay for teachers. The union says teachers should be paid for the two years they have worked without a contract. That's particularly important for senior teachers who are about to retire, because the retroactive pay will improve their retirement benefits.

However, the state is offering raises for only the last two years of the four-year contract — 2002 and 2003 — and the governor points out that no other public employee union has received retroactive pay.

In an attempt to find a way around the problem, the two sides apparently have discussed a retention "bonus" or "differential" as a one-time payment for the first two years of the contract. A bonus would be cheaper for the state because it is not built into the base salary but would add into teachers' retirement benefits.

The contract also establishes new professional development initiatives as part of Cayetano's drive to improve services.

The two sides have said they want to reach a deal by Tuesday. That is when U.S. District Judge David Ezra will consider a motion asking him to appoint a receiver over the school system to restore special-education services that have been cut off by the strike.

Ezra has said that he will intervene if the strike continues and that he has the authority to do so because of the Felix consent decree, which orders the state to improve special-education services by December.

Staff writer Scott Ishikawa contributed to this report.