The state has called a Hawaii Supreme Court petition filed by the teachers union that seeks relief from the terms of an imposed contract "fundamentally flawed."
In a filing with the court Thursday, the state also said the Hawaii Labor Relations Board has "exclusive jurisdiction over prohibited practice complaints."
The labor board also argued, in a separate filing, that granting the teachers’ petition would be inappropriate.
The filings were in response to an October court ruling that directed the state to respond to the union’s request that teachers be restored to the contract terms they were under before a "last, best and final" offer was imposed in July 2011.
The HLRB and the state argued granting relief would circumvent the process and go against prior case law.
The teachers union filed the petition in hopes of spurring a ruling by the HLRB on its prohibited-practice complaint against the state.
The union filed a complaint with HLRB after the state’s decision to unilaterally implement a contract for teachers with wage reductions and higher health insurance premiums. Proceedings in the prohibited-practice case wrapped up more than five months ago.
But the court denied the union’s request to compel the labor board to issue a ruling in the case.
The high court said it was denying the request "in light of the extended duration of the evidentiary proceeding and the voluminous record." The case hearings spanned 10 months and included dozens of witnesses.
Hawaii State Teachers Association President Wil Okabe said Friday that "teachers have been denied a prompt response by HLRB," as guaranteed by law.
"The labor board now says it has the discretion to respond when it is good and ready," Okabe said. "Meanwhile, the teachers are continuing to be deprived of exercising their constitutional rights to bargaining and prohibited from exercising their right to strike."
The state addressed the request for a speedy HLRB decision in its court filing, saying the board should be allowed to prioritize its cases and time.
