Question: Which lasted longer: the 100-year war between France and England, or the seemingly interminable war of words between the administration of Gov. Neil Abercrombie and the Hawaii State Teachers Association?

It was in July of 2011 that the Democratic governor, unable to get a vote for a contract that he says was approved by the HSTA bargaining committee, decided to impose his own "last, best and final" offer," forcing the teachers to work without a formal contract.

You recall that in 1337, it was England’s Edward III who refused to pay homage to Philip VI of France, which caused the French to grab Edward’s lands in France. This caused Edward to announce that he was actually the true king of France.

During the early days of the HSTA-Abercrombie war, the HSTA bargaining committee said the deal had not been approved, although Abercrombie said he had a "handshake" from the teachers’ union.

Then in 2012, there was a joint statement saying the administration and the HSTA would move forward with contract talks. The two parties announced a contract, which was sent to the teachers for approval.

Then the teachers said "no."

In 100 Year War terms, this takes us to around the time of the catastrophic battle of Agincourt, where the English longbows took on the heavily armored French and killed most of them. Some accounts said France lost 40 percent of its noblemen in that one battle.

Back in Hawaii in later 2012, the teachers’ union said it wanted to vote again, but Abercrombie charged that since the contract was rejected, there was no contract so there was nothing to vote on. That new contract also contained pay raises.

In Europe in 1428, Joan of Arc appeared, saying she had a vision from God telling her to lead the French to victory at Orleans. She broke through English defenses, defeated the fearsome archers at Patay and changed French battle strategy.

In 2013, the HSTA came back with another new contract offer, this one with yearly 4 percent pay raises and better health care benefits. The Abercrombie administration, claiming the offer would cost more than a billion dollars, said try again.

In 1430, Joan of Arc was captured and sold to the English, who accused her of being a witch, tried her for heresy and burned her at the stake in 1431.

No more was heard of state and HSTA negotiations until Abercrombie left Hawaii for Washington in the winter of 2013. Speaking at a meeting of the National Governors Association, he charged that the union has been fighting against performance-based teacher standards.

"At the present time, at least in my context, a state- wide contract has not yet been able to be achieved. We achieved it at the negotiating level, but we haven’t been able to get the board of the union to get it out to their membership," said Abercrombie.

Teachers started passing around a video of Abercrombie’s remarks, saying they are upset by the administration’s new tone.

Back on the Continent, by 1453, the French were gaining the upper hand and the English became distracted with another set of wars plus civil unrest at home. And there was the Bubonic Plague and the War of the Roses to deal with. Although it took another 20 years to sign a treaty, the war was over.

In Hawaii, the state is now working to get agreement on a new teachers’ contract. Abercrombie said in Washington that if the state isn’t successful, it will act by itself.

"So if push comes to shove, then we’ll have to continue to impose a contract," he said.

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Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com.