Three public-sector labor unions filed legal challenges yesterday against Gov. Linda Lingle's plans to furlough state workers, while the governor said she has instructed state department directors to draft layoff options as an alternative if furloughs are blocked in court.

The unions — the Hawai'i Government Employees Association, the Hawai'i State Teachers Association and the United Public Workers — filed separate complaints in Circuit Court in Honolulu arguing that furloughs should be the subject of collective bargaining negotiations between unions and the state.

The unions asked the court for an injunction stopping the governor from imposing furloughs in July or spending restrictions equivalent to furloughs at the state Department of Education.

Lingle has ordered state workers to take three furlough days a month for the next two years — about a 13.8 percent pay cut — to reduce $688 million in state spending and help close a budget deficit.

The HGEA, the state's largest public-sector union, contends the governor cannot unilaterally impose furloughs and circumvent the collective bargaining process. The HSTA and the UPW claim the governor's furlough plans are unconstitutional violations of the right to organize for collective bargaining and the separation of powers with the state Legislature, which has the authority to appropriate state money.

Union contracts expire at the end of the month.

"We have always been committed to a fair process, the need for all parties to negotiate in good faith, and we have been willing to do our part to work together to explore workable solutions for our community in the current economic climate," Roger Takabayashi, the HSTA's president, said in a statement. "It is unfortunate that we are forced to take this action."

FURLOUGHS 'UNFAIR'

Randy Perreira, the HGEA's executive director, accused the governor of ignoring the collective bargaining process. "Her imposed furloughs are unfair and unconstitutional, and we were forced to take legal action to prevent implementation, and the harm it would do to government employees and their families," he said in a statement.

"Now that we have challenged her unilateral furlough plan, we anticipate that the governor would next threaten the employees with layoffs. It's unfortunate that she has chosen this path instead of negotiating with us."

Lingle has said the state would need to lay off as many as 10,000 state workers to achieve the same $688 million in savings as furloughs. The governor has portrayed union leaders, particularly Perreira, as in denial about the state's financial crisis and unwilling to sacrifice.

Lingle said yesterday that the state has asked a federal mediator to help make progress in labor negotiations.

While Lingle's authority to impose furloughs is unclear, she has the power under state labor law to order layoffs. She said department directors have been asked to draw up layoff plans.

"If the unions are successful at blocking the furloughs, we will have to go to some mass layoffs and some shutdown of programs," Lingle said.

MAYORS ACT JOINTLY

County mayors, acting as the Hawai'i Council of Mayors, submitted a proposal to the governor on Monday for county workers that does not include furloughs, layoffs or pay cuts.

In a statement, the four mayors said it would be the first time the counties and the state would submit separate packages under one umbrella to the unions. The Lingle administration has been in negotiations with unions for months over new contracts, but the governor has not made a formal offer because she has not been able to get an endorsement from a county mayor. Under state labor law, the governor needs at least one mayor to back a formal offer, a safeguard that prevents the state from acting unilaterally.

"We have balanced budgets for next year," said Ken Nakamatsu, the director of human resources for the city and county of Honolulu.

Nakamatsu said the county budgets do not include furloughs, layoffs or pay cuts but "we're reserving the option to then negotiate with the unions any appropriate actions" for the second year of the contracts.

'DIFFERENT ISSUES'

The mayors' stance could undermine Lingle's argument that furloughs are necessary starting in July. Some union leaders and state lawmakers believe the governor could impose spending restrictions over the next several months, bargain with the unions over new contracts, and work collaboratively with lawmakers next session on amending the two-year budget to close a deficit she says is $730 million.

"While we have areas of agreement with the governor, it is important that during this round of negotiations we handle certain issues differently from the state," Big Island Mayor Billy Kenoi said in a statement.

"We appreciate the governor's willingness to be flexible and to work collaboratively with the counties as we navigate the economic challenges that confront all of us."

Lingle said the mayors' position is consistent with her thinking historically that counties should be negotiating more on their own. The governor said separate proposals make sense this year because the state — which relies primarily on general excise and individual income taxes — and the counties — which depend more on property taxes — are facing different financial challenges.

The governor said the counties will likely experience more of a revenue decline next year because of a lag in the recession's impact on property taxes. "They have different issues. They have different revenue streams, so it makes a lot of sense," she said.

SECOND THOUGHTS

Legal observers, after an initial look at the legal challenges yesterday afternoon, believe the courts will likely decide the complaints based on the collective bargaining argument rather than the separation of powers claim.

The state attorney general's office told state lawmakers in February that it was unclear whether Lingle had the authority to order furloughs without negotiating with unions but found that furlough procedures should be negotiated. In May, the state attorney general's office amended its position and argued that furloughs and furlough procedures are not subject to mandatory negotiations with unions.

The unions claim that furloughs reduce state workers' hours and wages and should be subject to collective bargaining. The HGEA also argues that existing contract terms cannot be changed by the state when the contracts expire because negotiations are ongoing as part of a timetable signed by the HGEA and the state in February.

The HGEA contends that even if the court finds that furloughs are not subject to negotiations, furlough procedures should be part of labor talks. The governor said most department directors turned in their furlough plans over the weekend, and her administration will announce the details soon.

Lingle said it will likely take longer to provide details on how furloughs will be implemented at state prisons, the Hawai'i State Hospital and the Hawai'i Youth Correctional Facility. The state has been working with the federal government to improve conditions at these facilities, and the governor said the state does not want the furlough process to sidetrack progress.

Michael Nauyokas, a labor attorney and mediator, described the legal issues involved as "very muddy."

"I just think that the governor put the unions in a position where they had to do this," he said. "They need to sit down and work it out. Instead of solving the problem, we're escalating it."