Teachers should take the high road regarding contract dispute

By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist

Overheard in the school yard:

"That guy had bad-style me. I going bad-style him back!"

Overheard in the teachers' lounge:

"That guy had bad-style us. We go bad-style him back."

Just when you thought the contract dispute was settled between the Hawai'i State Teachers Association and the state, there's talk of pickets again, and strike T-shirts, and words like "renege" and "bad-faith" are being thrown around.

It's amazing to think that after the anger and agony of the three-week strike, the relief when it was over, the smiles and handshakes as both sides claimed victory, the two sides are at it again, tainting the fresh start of a new school year.

The HSTA voted to accept a contract that offered 3 percent bonuses for teachers with professional diplomas or master's degrees for each year of the two-year contract. The state is saying it never made that offer.

Bad-style, indeed.

Yes, Davis Yogi and his posse should have caught the wording in the proposal put up to a vote by the teachers. Their excuse of, "Well, we wuz tired" is right up there with "the dog ate my homework." It wouldn't fly in any other deal-making arena. Pointing fingers back at the union and saying the mistake was theirs makes it even more bad-style.

But how long can this go on? How long should it go on? Is this an issue big enough to shut down schools again?

The teachers seem to want to get back to their students and leave the fighting behind. But it's hard. It's hard when you fought until you were exhausted and you thought you had a deal, then let yourself believe it was over. It's hard when so much emotion was involved. It's hard when it feels more like an insult or a final kick than a simple oversight.

It's hard to know how to pick your battles.

It seems the best option at this point would be for the teachers to sign off on the rest of the contract and to continue negotiations only on the bonuses for professional degrees. That would feel like a concession on the part of the teachers, but, as you learn in both school yard fights and bitter negotiations, sometimes you can't fight bad-style with bad-style. Sometimes you have to be the side that comes away with integrity intact but some points lost. Sometimes, it's not about winning or losing, but just getting on with it.

Not that the teachers should forgive and forget. It's hard to forgive and forget a move like this one. They should remember and move forward.

And Davis Yogi should get a big red unhappy face on his report card under "pays attention to detail."

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. She can be reached at lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8172.