Teachers union was told of dire straits, state says

Contract negotiators for the state made it clear to the teachers union in late April that if it didn’t accept a labor savings deal, there would be big consequences, Board of Education member Jim Williams said Tuesday.

State negotiators had told the union, "The only choice we’d have would be layoffs," Williams testified before the Hawaii Labor Relations Board.

Williams, who is scheduled to return before the labor board this morning, was the first of scores of witnesses subpoenaed to testify in the union’s "prohibited practice" complaint over the state’s decision to unilaterally implement on July 1 pay cuts, furloughs and higher medical premiums for teachers.

During some three hours of testimony, Williams discussed his recollection of key bargaining sessions, his role as a BOE member and his understanding of how the collective bargaining process works.

Williams said at a marathon bargaining session April 27 that he supported the state’s contention that the union needed to agree to labor savings immediately or it could face harsher terms in the future.

"We had a frank discussion of the implications and consequences of agreeing or not agreeing on these bargaining proposals," Williams said.

That day of talks wrapped up at about 8 p.m., with negotiators for the Hawaii State Teachers Association and the state reaching a tentative agreement on wage reductions and higher health insurance premiums.

Attorneys for HSTA have argued that union negotiators felt intimidated and coerced into accepting the tentative agreement on cost items because of the threats of layoffs or larger pay cuts.

In late June, the HSTA board of directors voted unanimously to reject the state’s "last, best and final" offer, which included the proposed agreement on labor savings and other key provisions.

That prompted the state to declare an impasse in negotiations and to impose the terms of its "last, best" offer. The state argues 5 percent wage reductions and a 50-50 split on employee and state contributions to health insurance are needed to avert as many as 800 layoffs.

Williams echoed those sentiments Tuesday, saying he and other negotiators on the state’s team weren’t trying to coerce anyone when they said the HSTA needed to act quickly to accept a deal.

HSTA lawyer Herbert Takahashi asked Williams what he meant when he told HSTA representatives on April 27 that it was "make-it-or-break-it time."

"This was a critical juncture in the negotiation," Williams replied, adding that "HSTA needed to determine whether they were going to agree (to the labor savings). If they weren’t … they needed to realize there would be consequences. They had a choice to make."

Williams was one of two BOE members to participate in the contract talks. Also representing the state were BOE Chairman Don Horner, chief negotiator Neil Dietz and Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi.

Takahashi said he expected to spend at least two more hours questioning Williams today. Dietz and Horner will be called next.

At times Tuesday, the back-and-forth between Takahashi and Williams became heated. Labor Board Chairman James Nicholson twice told Takahashi not to "make a sermon" out of his questions and to give Williams a chance to answer before interrupting him with another.

Throughout the hearing, Takahashi spent a considerable amount of time going over Williams’ former roles at HSTA. In the 1970s, Williams served as an HSTA representative while working as a teacher on Molokai. He was the union’s president from 1980 to 1982. Last year he served a brief stint as executive director.

Williams was appointed to the BOE in March.