Teachers rule out strike

By Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Staff Writer

The state's teachers union yesterday said it will seek the help of the Hawai'i Labor Relations Board, rather than strike again, to settle an ongoing contract dispute.

The Hawai'i State Teachers Association said it will file a "prohibited practice" complaint with the Hawai'i Labor Relations Board within the next two weeks, asking the board to order the state to honor the collective bargaining contract that was tentatively agreed upon in April.

Gov. Ben Cayetano and the teachers union are in disagreement over whether the contract's 3 percent bonus for teachers with advanced and professional degrees was meant to be paid for one or two years.

The lack of signatures on the contract has delayed salary increases and the distribution of a $1,110 retention bonus.

HSTA President Karen Ginoza said yesterday that the union's 52-member executive board voted unanimously to go to the state labor board, basing its decision on the overwhelming feedback from 3,000 teachers during statewide meetings last week.

"We are being advised by distinguished labor lawyers — including the National Education Association's general counsel, Robert Chanin — that we have a strong argument," Ginoza said.

State administration officials could not be reached for comment yesterday on HSTA's action.

A decision by the three-member state labor relations board on the case would be binding, but could be appealed by the losing side to a state court.

If an appeal is filed, a final outcome could take years, said labor attorney Charles Khim, who works for the Hawai'i Government Employees Association.

"It's going to come down to HSTA's claim that the governor breached his duty to bargain in good faith, and the governor's argument that there is no agreement," Khim said.

"For HSTA's case, they will probably say, 'Once you sign off on a contract, even if it's a tentative agreement, it's binding.'"

As for the administration, Khim said it may argue that the union has waived its right to enforce that agreement, "because they reopened negotiations."

"For the labor board, it's going to come down to who you believe," Khim said.

Khim said that the labor board chairman, Brian Nakamura, will probably will hold the key vote in the decision. The two other board members — Kathleen Racuya-Markrich, Cayetano's former press secretary, and Chester Kunitake, a former HGEA leader — represent the interests of management and union.

To resolve the issue quickly, the labor board could issue an injunction forcing the state to implement the contract, Khim said.

The board could also choose to honor the contract's pay raises and let both sides litigate the 3 percent bonus, Khim said.

Negotiations in the contract dispute have faltered since May. The governor has said that he will not budge from his offer of a $9.7 million, one-year bonus for teachers with advanced degrees or professional diplomas because he does not want other education programs jeopardized.

Several factors may have influenced the union's decision not to strike:

• HSTA cannot maintain its position that it has a binding contract and legally go on strike. "We believe this is a binding agreement, and that's why we're taking this direction," Ginoza said yesterday. "For us to strike would say we don't have a contract."
• A strike would interrupt the school year and could turn parents against the union.
• Teachers would be hurt financially if the union decided to strike a second time. Khim estimated that the three-week teachers' strike in April cost HSTA $500,000.

HSTA Executive Director Joan Husted said financial hardship in the event of a strike was not the main factor in the union's decision to go to the labor board. But she acknowledged yesterday that some teachers would not participate in a second strike because they could not afford it.