Teachers Union Wants What UPW Got — Bigger Raises, Better Benefits
Emboldened by the ’ new deal, the Hawaii State Teachers Association wants the state to double down on its latest contract settlement offer.
Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s negotiations team in December offered teachers annual 2 percent raises through 2015 and a restoration of the 5 percent pay cuts they unwillingly took in July 2011.
The teachers union rejected that offer and came back after the holidays with a new proposal. It calls for 4 percent raises for the next three years, restoring the pay cuts and better healthcare benefits.
HSTA also wants to tweak the teacher evaluation component of the contract. The union’s latest offer calls for extending the pilot program another year and changing the weighting system to something mutually agreed upon.
Teachers union leaders will be returning to the bargaining table Thursday. They plan to pick up where they left off Friday with state negotiators.
When the governor imposed the state’s “last, best, final offer” in July 2011, his deal included a provision to make teachers pay half their healthcare premiums. HSTA’s latest proposal calls for a 60/40 split, in favor of the employee, which is what UPW won last month in arbitration along with 3.2 percent raises.
UPW rejected the 5 percent pay cuts that other Hawaii unions accepted to help the state deal with its deficit two years ago. Instead, UPW went to arbitration, as did a couple other unions.
HSTA President Wil Okabe said Tuesday that he expects the firefighters, nurses and police unions to reap similar benefits from arbitration. He said this should give the teachers union more ammo in its fight for a better contract.
The state says it can’t afford to give all the unions pay raises and better healthcare benefits.
Board of Education member Jim Williams said in December that it was unfortunate HSTA leaders were unwilling to accept more than $49 million of new compensation for teachers. He said that proposal was $11 million more than what was offered in any previous state proposal.
He said Tuesday that it would be premature to comment in detail on HSTA’s latest proposal until the two sides have a chance to meet.
“We’re going over not only the costs but also the terms of what they proposed,” Williams said. “I am pleased that they at least made a proposal; that’s positive. I’m sure we won’t agree with everything in it, but having a proposal is better than not.”
Okabe said Tuesday that UPW’s new contract was a factor in HSTA’s latest proposal. He said the teachers union and HGEA should receive a deal that’s fair compared to other public employee unions in Hawaii.
But pay isn’t the only thing Okabe said should be fair for teachers. He said the new teacher evaluation system needs to be, too.
The union wants the state to hold off on implementing a teacher evaluation program that’s being piloted in 81 schools so more data can be collected, Okabe said. The new system is supposed to go statewide next school year.
HSTA also wants to have more of a say in how much each component that comprises the overall evaluation counts.
The pilot program, which stems from a policy the board approved in April, is based on a 50/50 split between student growth and learning. The Department of Education is still determining how much the different metrics, including classroom observations and student surveys, should be weighted.
The union’s proposed policy, which would go into effect in 2016, says evaluations should be based on indicators of teacher practice, teacher contribution and student growth.
The proposal says the evaluation will include measuring student learning objectives that are developed jointly at the beginning of each year by the teacher and the administrator. These are to be based on teacher-created assessments, district and school assessments, student work and standardized tests with certain conditions, including that they count for no more than 10 percent of the overall evaluation.
“We want to be held accountable,” Okabe said. “But we want it to be fair and equitable.”
The state has proposed an advisory committee, including HSTA representatives, to review the new teacher evaluation system.
Teachers Taking Tax Proposal to Legislature
The teachers behind the work-to-the-rule protests, which started at Campbell High School before spreading statewide to more than 100 schools last year, have planned a rally Thursday afternoon at the Capitol.
The teachers are pushing a proposed bill to up the general excise tax 1 percent. They expect the increase to raise $500 million annually and want the money put exclusively toward education, including higher teacher salaries.
HSTA doesn’t support the plan. The union says the teachers are free to champion their own initiatives, but it won’t get behind a tax increase at this point.
Okabe issued a statement Sunday on the teachers’ efforts.
“HSTA recognizes and applauds the teachers who have worked hard in producing a piece of legislation with the intent of assisting teachers in our struggle,” he said. “HSTA strives to be representative of all voices heard and follow a strict protocol to ensure we are working as a collective body.”
The union encouraged the teachers who produced the bill to present it to the HSTA Government Relations Committee and Board for a thorough review and approval process.
“At this time, HSTA has not seen the bill in its entirety, therefore HSTA is not in a position to support these efforts,” Okabe wrote.
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