Different arithmetic blocked school days

By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Capitol Bureau

The breakthrough in the teachers' strike that sent children back to school yesterday finally came down to how the two sides counted the money, according to some who participated in the tense negotiations over 19 days.

From the beginning, the teachers talked about the dollar value of each offer, studying each proposal to determine how many millions of dollars in raises the state was willing to fork over.

Across the table, Gov. Ben Cayetano and his chief negotiator Davis Yogi were interested in percentages. They wanted to know what percent raises were contemplated with each proposal and who would get them.

Many millions of dollars hung in the balance, and by some accounts the different ways of tallying the spoils helped stall a settlement for weeks. It was finally resolved with the help of outside advisers, and allowed for a settlement that looked good for the union and affordable for the state.

The teachers union was able to boast it hauled in a settlement worth more than 18 percent, including a 10 percent pay increase, salary increment raises worth another 6 percent, and an $1,100 bonus for every teacher that amounts to about 2 percent.

$30.8 million saved

On the state side, Yogi said last week that the final settlement will cost the state only $98.7 million after figuring in the $30.8 million the state saved by not paying wages to the striking teachers.

Cayetano's final offer before teachers walked out would have cost the state $94 million, Yogi said.

Hawaii State Teachers Association President Karen Ginoza said Yogi is overstating the value of the state's final offer before the strike, which she said was worth only $86 million. In any event, "there are other things we had gotten through this contract that are not really dollar amounts," she said.

Among other things, the contract provides for new rewards for teachers with advanced degrees, and a new pay increment system, she said.

"The outcome is a contract the teachers can be very proud of and I think the state can be proud of," she said.

The serious movement toward a settlement in the teachers' strike began after the 13-day university faculty strike ended April 17.

Cayetano turned to his old friend U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, who played a role in the UH settlement, and asked him to call in former state schools superintendent Charles Toguchi to help mediate the teacher dispute.

Cayetano hoped Toguchi and Abercrombie, who both had long-standing ties to the teachers union, would be able to get past the anti-Cayetano rhetoric of the picket signs and rallies.

When Cayetano asked for help, the governor was saying, in effect, that "education is bigger than any one person" and that "as long as it's personalized on me, we're not going to move forward," according to Abercrombie.

There were major problems to sort through, in part because the teachers had lobbied so skillfully at the Legislature.

Over and over, Cayetano complained publicly about lawmakers who promised to find money for teacher raises. One critical point was an announcement by Senate Ways and Means Chairman Brian Taniguchi, D-11th (McCully, Mo'ili'ili, Manoa), that he had found and set aside $200 million for teacher raises.

That complicated negotiations severely. Several people involved said it prolonged the strike.

Cayetano never had any intention of granting teacher raises worth $200 million. He said Taniguchi's budget wasn't workable.

On the teachers' side, the $200 million became a benchmark for many pickets who expected union negotiators to bring back a settlement worth at least that much.

That greatly increased expectations. But the administration believed there were strong indications that even the teachers' negotiators didn't believe a $200 million settlement was likely.

"When that kind of thing came up, Karen (and HSTA executive director Joan Husted) knew those numbers wouldn't fly, but what are they going to do?" Abercrombie said of the $200 million figure. "My own view is the strike went on a helluva lot longer than it had to because the Legislature failed to respect collective bargaining."

When asked about the part he played, Taniguchi said: "We hope that we contributed to the settlement."

"I think people were concerned that there wasn't the money" while he insisted that $200 million was in fact available for raises, he said.

Less before walkout

Ginoza said the Legislature helped the union by setting aside that money, but she noted that the teachers had informally offered to settle for considerably less than $200 million before the strike. With participation of about 99 percent on the picket line, teachers' expectations were very high, she said.

The agreement was finally crafted to provide percentage pay increases that were very close to the percentages the teachers had been seeking — more than 16 percent in raises and another 2 percent in a "retention incentive" — but did it in a way that cost the state far less than Taniguchi's $200 million.

The negotiators managed that by dribbling out the raises in small increments throughout the contract.

The teachers were granted step-increases worth 6 percent and across-the-board raises of 10 percent, but those raises don't take full effect until February 2003.

By delaying the full implementation of the raises, the teachers received considerably less money than they would have if the raises were granted in larger chunks that were handed out earlier in the contract.

Cayetano estimated that the final settlement would cost $112 million, although representatives of the teachers union contend the true total is $125 million after "professional development" pay is figured in.

Rodrigues role

Retroactive pay was another major sticking point that was solved April 19 after some helpful kibitzing by United Public Workers State Director Gary Rodrigues.

The problem was the teachers wanted retroactive pay for the past two years that they worked without a contract, but Cayetano wouldn't budge on that issue.

Rodrigues, an experienced negotiator, helped to break that impasse by suggesting a "bonus" that would give the teachers a cash benefit and a pension boost, but wouldn't inflate the cost of any future raises. The teachers at one point asked for as much as $4,000 each in bonuses, but Cayetano resisted.

"I said no, I don't think it's right that I pay people to strike ... and they understood that," Cayetano said.

The two sides eventually settled on $1,100 that will cost the state $13 million. Cayetano said that money will be paid out of the $30 million the state saved on teachers' wages and other costs during the 20-day strike.

While he believes the new contract is a step in the right direction for the school system, Cayetano said it wasn't a clear victory for anyone.

"I think we should be honest with ourselves: Everybody loses in a strike," Cayetano said. "The kids lost a little bit, the teachers and their families lost something. The state lost.

"Hopefully, when we pull together on this contract, we will make up what we lost in the years ahead."