Posted on: Friday, April 15, 2005
HGEA decision may aid teachers
By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Education Writer
A tentative labor agreement for Hawai'i's 13,000 public school teachers could be forthcoming this weekend if a deal for other government workers is announced today, as expected.
The Hawai'i State Teachers Association and the state have been far apart in negotiations for wage increases since initial offers were made last month. Both sides have been guarded while awaiting an arbitrated decision on raises for another union, the Hawai'i Government Employees Association.
The deadline for that arbitration is today, and the outcome is expected to help determine the size of raises that teachers will seek in final talks this weekend.
"It's going to be the start of heavy negotiations," said Ken Taira, chief state negotiator.
He said he was "very optimistic" that a deal with HSTA will be reached this weekend.
HSTA spokeswoman Danielle Lum also said she expected the talks to speed up.
"We anticipate an offer once the HGEA arbitration is announced," she said. "We're hopeful. We've worked through this whole thing in a positive manner, and we're hopeful for a positive result."
A deal could be reached as soon as tomorrow if the state makes an acceptable offer, she said. A settlement would have to be ratified by HSTA's members by next Friday if money for raises is to be included in the state budget that lawmakers are preparing.
The teachers initially asked for raises of 15 percent for each year of the two-year contract, with an annual cost of $90 million. The state offered 1.5 percent raises that would cost $6 million per year. Negotiators also differed on issues related to time management and teachers' responsibilities outside the classroom.
The raises that HSTA sought would increase starting teachers' annual pay from $36,486 to $45,000, and raise the average salary from $44,000 to $60,000. A longer-term goal is to increase top-scale pay from $66,203 to $100,000 by 2009.
Talks have continued with the assistance of a federal mediator, and both sides said progress has been made. Neither side would specify how their positions have changed, citing an information blackout required for mediation.
HSTA negotiated a retroactive two-year contract settlement last year that provided raises of 4 to 7 percent. The union went on strike for three weeks in 2001 before reaching a deal that gave teachers raises totaling 18.5 percent over two years. That contract was later extended for a year.
The other union, HGEA, represents 24,000 white-collar state and county workers — including school principals — and 1,200 nurses. The union is seeking raises of 5 percent to 7 percent in each year of a two-year contract.
The state offered 1.5 percent annual raises for most positions, and 4 percent for some supervisory posts and hard-to-fill medical positions, said HGEA spokesman Randy Kusaka.
The state also offered 1.5 percent to the United Public Workers, which represents 9,000 blue-collar employees, Taira said.
State contracts with all three unions expire June 30.
Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.
