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Hawaii teachers are upset not only over the contents of the state’s “last, best, final” contract offer, but also with the tactics used to present them, says a union representative with the Hawaii State Teachers Association.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie‘s decision to go public with the state’s final offer for 12,700 school teachers was not in keeping with the in collective bargaining law, said Beatrice DeRego-Coffield, a reading teacher at Kahuku High School who is also a union grievance representative for the Windward Complex.

“Good faith means you don’t go to the public with your offer,” DeRego-Coffield said. “That’s why the teachers are so mad. The state just pushed away from the table and said, ‘This is the best we can do, have a nice day.'”

Abercrombie and Department of Education Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi announced the terms of their final offer in press releases on June 29, claiming that negotiations had reached an impasse.

But HSTA leaders say that announcement was premature — negotiations were ongoing when the state said that it would implement the new contract regardless of whether the union approved. The new contract, which went into effect Friday, includes a combination of a 1.5 percent salary cut and unpaid time off that amounts to a 5 percent pay cut.

Teachers are also concerned that the terms offered them are not equitable with those given to Hawaii Government Employees Association members. HGEA workers received a 5 percent salary reduction, but were also given nine days of paid leave. Teachers received a 1.5 percent salary cut and were offered leave without pay on certain non-instructional days that previously qualified for paid leave.

(Civil Beat reported on HGEA workers’ nine days of paid leave here.)

“(The governor) is saying HGEA workers took a 5 percent cut, but if you do the math and figure out the number of days they’re not working with that pay, you end up with an entirely different ratio,” DeRego-Coffield said, noting her frustration with media coverage that ignores the discrepancy. “We don’t mind equity, but don’t say they took a 5 percent pay cut when they didn’t.”

The announcement also came less than a week before many union leaders were scheduled to travel to Chicago for a conference. They had planned to continue negotiations, but the “final offer” ultimatum prematurely cut off the bargaining process. The timing seemed a little too convenient and could not have been a coincidence, DeRego-Coffield said.

Those familiar with the traditionally-private collective bargaining process cringe when they see details of the contract — which they consider unsettled — up for public debate.

“To me, it’s just a problem that they went public with it and they’re playing it out in the media,” DeRego-Coffield said. “It’s just so frustrating.”

Teachers Still in the Dark About Final Contract Terms

But teachers’ frustration isn’t only directed at the governor and superintendent. DeRego-Coffield said her major concern with the union leadership is that there hasn’t been enough communication between them and teachers.

“There are 13,000 of us, and it’s hard to know where the membership stands without the representatives coming together and saying ‘This is how my people feel,'” she said.

The union has yet to put out to its members a comprehensive list of the terms in their new contract. Most updates on the status of the contract have been shared via electronic media like email and Facebook, according to DeRego.

The best way to get a read on the pulse of teachers, she said, is to browse the wall, which contains a wide spectrum of sentiments from teachers all over the state.

Teacher Strike Unlikely

Despite the lack of organized communication and meetings, DeRego-Coffield said she doesn’t anticipate teachers striking.

“We would have to vote to go out on a strike, and I personally think in this economy, it wouldn’t happen,” she said. “I used to think it would, but after this whole week of watching people and listening to people, they’re hurting. They’ve been hurting for years. Even the people who want to strike just can’t, because they have to pay their bills. I can’t see that actually happening.”

She reported that many teachers she has spoken with are in a ‘wait and see’ mode, and she predicts that the way the contract is handled will be a harbinger of what is to come for labor unions.

“This has never happened in the history of Hawaii labor relations, and under a Democratic governor in a unionized state,” said DeRego-Coffield. “There’s all this other stuff going on in Wisconsin and other states, but people really need to be paying attention to what’s going on in Hawaii. If they can implement a contract unilaterally without allowing collective bargaining to actually do what it was designed to do, it could radically change the face of Hawaii.”