Poll finds strong support for UH strike
| UH tuition increase gets final approval |
By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Staff Writer
A public opinion poll conducted on behalf of the University of Hawai'i Professional Assembly and released yesterday shows public support for a faculty strike, but the governor's office quickly dismissed the results as a marketing effort.
The poll showed that 73 percent of the public think that UH faculty members are paid less than their colleagues on the Mainland. It also shows that 8 percent believe the governor is being fair to the faculty members, while 62 percent believe he is being unfair. The public opinion poll of 602 Hawai'i residents was conducted by Market Trends Pacific, a Honolulu market research firm.
About 66 percent of the residents would support a faculty strike, while 26 percent would oppose it, according to the poll.
"The results are not surprising," said Kim Murakawa, press secretary to Gov. Ben Cayetano. Murakawa said the union's public relations and advertising campaign are paying off even though the state has limited resources to give raises. "But no amount of PR will change the fact that the state cannot afford the amounts public worker unions are seeking."
The governor took out newspaper ads this week to explain the state's position with the public schoolteachers union and UHPA. The move angered teachers and faculty and caused some legislators to question the expenditure of state money.
UHPA and the governor's office have failed to reach an agreement after two years of negotiations. The faculty members, who have been without a contract or pay raises since 1998, have asked for a raise of 6 percent each year for two years.
Cayetano's negotiators have offered a 3 percent raise for two years for Manoa, Hilo and West O'ahu faculty members, and a $4,755 raise over two years for community college faculty members, plus money for some merit raises on each campus.
Salaries for the entire 10-campus system range from $30,000 to $149,000, but most faculty members fall toward the bottom end of that scale.
Faculty members will take a strike vote Monday through Wednesday and could walk off the job in early April.