UH union says deal is 'best' it could get
By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer
If the proposed six-year contract for University of Hawai'i faculty is defeated in ratification votes next week, the faculty union will go to its members for strike authorization before going back to the bargaining table.
But even if the authorization is given, J.N. Musto, executive director of the University of Hawai'i Professional Assembly, warned that "the timing is very short to reach another agreement and have it funded (before the Legislature adjourns)."
Under that scenario, Musto said the union likely would have to wait another year before any raises would be financed.
Musto painted the potential scenario in the first of a series of information briefings that began yesterday on campuses throughout the UH system.
Despite union reassurances about the proposed contract, it is a week of uncertainty, with many faculty members still undecided about how they will vote and students not yet in the clear regarding a potential strike.
At Manoa yesterday, union officials fielded faculty concerns about issues including whether the state will honor the final two "balloon" years of the agreement, worries about postponement of retirement for senior faculty, and why the union settled for what many considered so little in the first three years. Other concerns included the lack of an additional "bump" increase for full professors, who are continually falling behind newly hired, younger faculty.
Last Thursday, the state, UHPA, and the UH administration announced tentative agreement on a contract that increases salaries by 31 percent over six years, with raises of 1, 3, 2, 5, 9 and 11 percent, respectively. Faculty salaries now range from a low of $35,000 to a high of about $200,000. A nine-month salary of $60,000 today — a fairly typical amount — would rise to $80,880 in 4 years and 3 months.
Ratification votes are scheduled April 6 and 7.
"If it were possible, this team would have negotiated a front-end bargain," Musto told an assemblage of about 100 faculty members at the Manoa campus. "And the argument (that) it's not going to be funded is just fallacious."
But he said concerns of older faculty about holding off retirement to see benefits from the two big balloon years at the end are valid.
"Our advice is to stay to the end," he said. "It will have significant financial impact for the rest of their lives."
Union officials said it was the best possible agreement they could achieve for their 3,148 members, and that the state "dug their heels in very deep" by offering just 1 and 3 percent increases for the first two years and zero in the third year because of concerns about a number of bond payments coming due.
It was the governor who "came through," said bargaining team member James Heasley, and upped the third-year proposal from zero to 2 percent.
Musto said the bargaining team had sought a more modest annual proposal each year that would have amounted to more money in the end. But the state continually balked.
"We wanted a more evenly paced agreement than they proposed and much higher percentages," said UHPA President Mary Tiles. But nothing negates the fact that within five years, all salaries will be more than one-third higher, said Musto.
"Do we think it's the best agreement we could get? I think it is," said Heasley. "We could argue all day if they can make the payments four years from now, but we can push this in the courts if need be."
Although some faculty members said they don't yet know how they'll vote, Ray Allen from International Student Services was very clear about his feelings.
"Is it the best? No," said Allen. "I'd love the 11 percent up front. But I'd like a Ferrari, too. I think a strike, though a valuable tool, can hurt us in the long run. A lot of kids will be hurt."
Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.
