Hawaii Teachers Union Applies to Join AFL-CIO
The Hawaii State Teachers Association could soon join the ranks of the AFL-CIO, a powerful political labor federation that local union leaders say would strengthen the HSTA鈥檚 voice and help it to forge partnerships with other unions. This, they say, would ultimately improve Hawaii education.
The price tag for membership in Hawaii鈥檚 American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations for all 13,500 public school teachers is likely to surpass $50,000 annually, teachers say.
The HSTA proposal to join the AFL-CIO aims to remedy challenges the union faces. HSTA President Wil Okabe recently sent out an email to teachers with an update on how the union鈥檚 elected board is responding to negative feedback about the association. He outlined three priorities that he said will make HSTA 鈥渟tronger than ever鈥: transforming education by focusing on the student, making the union more relevant to members and offering programs that meet the professional needs of new teachers.
A survey of the state鈥檚 public teachers, he added, inspired the HSTA board of directors to apply for membership with the AFL-CIO.
Membership would 鈥渟trengthen the HSTA鈥檚 voice in union debates for the benefit of its 13,500 members,鈥 Okabe told Civil Beat in a statement. It鈥檚 unclear exactly how much joining the federation would cost teachers because membership fees for the HSTA and the AFL-CIO are not made public, but a document provided to Civil Beat shows that HSTA members paid nearly $700 in annual dues in 2010, and other estimates suggest the monthly cost of Hawaii AFL-CIO membership is well under $1 per month for each union member.
The HSTA, which is already a member of the National Education Association, would be joining 73 other local affiliate unions and labor organizations that are already in Hawaii鈥檚 AFL-CIO federation, which is an offshoot of the national organization that represents more than 12 million workers. The federation is sort of like a union of unions that aims to unify the local labor movement through lobbying and political activism.
Other members include the AFSCME, the ILWU and UHPA, the University of Hawaii faculty union.
Hawaii AFL-CIO President Randy Perreira declined to comment on the HSTA application.
In Hawaii, union affiliations don’t always go smoothly. Just this past May, the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly blasted the National Education Association for trying to “destroy” the faculty union.
But membership could give more political clout to a teacher’s union that has been butting heads with the state for years over legislation and pay, among a host of other issues.
The Hawaii AFL-CIO, according to its , serves its constituents unions 鈥渂y speaking for the entire labor movement鈥 before the Legislature and other branches of government.
鈥淲e provide affiliates with a mechanisms to exchange views and make decisions to promote a unified voice and unified action,鈥 Perreira says on the website.
Senate Education Committee Chair Jill Tokuda said it鈥檚 unclear how much of a legislative benefit the HSTA would gain from the AFL-CIO. But she did point to the cross-section of unions with membership in the federation, suggesting that it provides a forum through which unions can understand issues across all labor sectors.
The AFL-CIO has recently taken notable stances on politically heated issues such as same-sex marriage, which it supports, and Obamacare, which it has described as
Locally, Perreira, on behalf of the AFL-CIO, has for legislation aimed at building a public preschool network in the state.
鈥淲ithout making the commitment and securing funding for universal access to early childhood education, we risk not having a sufficiently prepared workforce for the future,鈥 Perreira said in a promotional insert in Hawaii Business magazine. 鈥淣ow is the time to make early childhood education a reality for all.鈥
That stands in contrast to the HSTA, which strongly opposed parts of the legislation that would allow for public money to be paid to private preschool providers.
