April 6, 2001

Strikes Shut Down Hawaii Public Schools

By EVELYN NIEVES

Hawaii's entire public school system, the only statewide public education system in the United States, shut down yesterday when teachers, as well as University of Hawaii faculty members, walked out after breakdowns in separate contract negotiations.

Some 183,000 public school students and 42,000 university students were affected in what state officials said they believed to be the first time that strikes had shut a state's entire school system from the nursery school through the university level.

It was a chaotic day. State officials scrambled to set up day care centers, private businesses devised impromptu baby-sitting services in lobbies and lunchrooms, and university students crossed picket lines, to the displeasure of their striking professors, for classes taught by nonunion teaching assistants and substitutes.

Teachers and professors walking in picket lines were somber, most looking to the ground with glum faces. Some waved at passing cars honking their horns in support.

Joan Lee Husted, executive director of the Hawaii State Teachers' Association said that about 98 percent of teachers had participated in the strike. Ms. Husted said the teachers' and professors' unions believed that the state had the money to increase salaries but was unwilling to do so. That, she said, "is doing great damage to the state of Hawaii."

Gov. Benjamin J. Cayetano said the state was doing everything possible to bring order to the system, though with no new talks scheduled with the unions, students were guaranteed a second day off today.

"The state made offers to the unions over the last two days with the hope of achieving a settlement to avert a painful and costly strike," Mr. Cayetano, a Democrat, said in a statement. "To my great disappointment and sadness, it appears the state's efforts to avoid a walkout appear to have been rejected. This is a day no one in the state wanted to see and a day we tried very hard to avoid."

A strike was called late Wednesday afternoon at the headquarters of the teachers' association after the state's chief negotiator left the building, telling reporters that talks had ended. The association represents nearly 13,000 public school teachers.

Three hours later, the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly, the union representing 3,100 University of Hawaii faculty members, announced that it had reached an impasse with the state as well.

At issue were raises. The governor said the public school teachers' union had rejected the state's offer of raises totaling 14 percent over two years, holding fast to its demand for a 22 percent increase over four years, retroactive to July 1999. For the faculty, Mr. Cayetano said, the state had increased its raise offer to 11 percent The school teachers' union has been negotiating with the state since late 2000 over a 22 percent across- the-board raise, Ms. Husted said. Last week, the union lowered its demands to a $160 million package, a 21 percent raise, from $260 million. 

The governor said the state's latest offer raised the state's cost 40 percent over its original proposal, but still left the sides $100 million apart. 

Union leaders say that their priority is to address Hawaii's growing shortage of qualified teachers and that the state's offer would not accomplish that. 

Hawaii's teachers earn $29,000 to $58,000 a year. 

J. N. Musto, executive director of the faculty union, said a major stumbling block was the state's refusal to grant any salary increase to about 300 university lecturers. 

Lieut. Gov. Mazie K. Hirono broke ranks with her boss yesterday and joined several pickets. She plans to challenge the governor for office next year but said yesterday's move was not politically motivated.