New filing angers teachers more

By Alice Keesing
Advertiser Education Writer

The anxiety and bitterness surrounding the unsettled teachers contract escalated yesterday when the state filed a second complaint against the union.

HSTA President Karen Ginoza says the state is not trying to resolve the issue.

April 5, but Hawai'i State Teachers Association officials say they are pressing on with their plans.

The state accused the union last week of not bargaining in good faith. Yesterday the state filed a second complaint with the Hawai'i Labor Relations Board questioning union plans to photograph anyone crossing picket lines.

The complaints have cast a new pall over the contract negotiations, which have been deadlocked since November.

"I'm not optimistic anymore," said HSTA Executive Director Joan Husted last night after learning of the second complaint. "It looks pretty bleak because the governor just keeps putting barriers up.

"It's hard to talk about all of this when the governor is beating teachers over the head — although he's now picked up a sledgehammer when it used to be a stick."

But Deputy Attorney General Francis Keeno said the aim of the complaints is to get the two sides back to the bargaining table.

"Ultimately, the object of all of this is to reach some settlement with the union," Keeno said. "We believe the governor and state have been negotiating in good faith."

In the complaint filed with the labor relations board yesterday, the state challenged union strike documents that instruct picketers to photograph people and cars crossing the line.

"From our perspective, we believe there is no legitimate union interest in identifying people who cross the picket line and such a practice would constitute coercion or put people crossing the line under duress and prevent them from crossing," Keeno said.

In the first complaint filed on Friday, the state accused the union of refusing to bargain in good faith.

It says the union has rejected state proposals "on the spot" without adequate consideration, and that it has misrepresented those proposals.

The state also charges that the union has not altered its bargaining position since Oct. 12.

"By assuming a "take-it-or-leave-it" attitude, the HSTA is refusing to bargain in good faith with the employer," the state said in its complaint.

HSTA President Karen Ginoza fired back yesterday, saying the state has not budged from its own bargaining position.

"So far the 'proposals' presented to us by the state are akin to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic and does nothing to further a fair settlement," she said in a written release.

Just two months ago, the state's own "good faith" was questioned by a three-member fact-finding panel. In recommending a 19 percent raise for teachers, the panel also expressed concerns about the state's position.

"This panel was left with the impression that the state was being less than cooperative and open in this matter," the panelists reported in January.

The HSTA has 10 days to respond to the complaints after which the labor relations board can hold hearings.

The state plans to ask the labor relations board to prohibit a walkout until the complaints are resolved.