The state and the Hawaii State Teachers Association have reached a tentative agreement on a new four-year pact that provides for pay increases, restoration of previous medical coverage premium percentages, and HSTA input on teaching evaluation policies.
"This contract establishes a solid foundation for our teachers and students," said Gov. Neil Abercrombie. "Bargaining was a challenging task, but Hawaii has a tradition of working together so these challenges can be resolved. As a result, the negotiating teams kept at it, and we have a contract that is right and fair and just."
The proposed contract now goes to the HSTA membership for review. The HSTA has scheduled a ratification vote for April 17.
Under the terms of the new agreement, the state will restore the 5 percent pay cut teachers took when the state imposed the current "last, best and final" contract in 2011. The restoration, plus a 3 percent increase, would take effect in the first year of the contract; those already at the top of the HSTA pay scale would receive a $1,500 bonus.
Teachers would then receive a 3.2 percent pay increase in the second year, another 3 percent increase in the third year (with another $1,500 bonus for top-scale employees) and a 3.2 percent increase in the final year.
Abercrombie said pay increases and other provisions of the contract are possible in part because of improved fiscal conditions.
"We have righted the fiscal ship of this state," he said. "The Council of Revenues has projected a positive balance to accompany the good fiscal management of the state, so we’re confident that the proposals embodied in the proposal can be funded and the state will continue on the positive-balance path that it’s been on since our administration came into office."
The new contract, which grew out of a week of mediated discussions between the two sides, also restores member health insurance premiums, which were raised in the 2011 contract, to their previous levels; provides for HSTA representatives to participate in Board of Education discussions on teacher evaluation policies; covers the cost of teaching licenses; and allows for teachers to donate sick leave to other teachers for additional maternity leave.
Abercrombie declined to discuss specific provisions of the agreement but hailed the new pact as "the most progressive contract in the United States."
According to BOE member Jim Williams, negotiators worked through the night Friday before arriving at an agreement early Saturday morning.
HSTA President Wil Okabe said his negotiating committee voted unanimously to take the contract back to HSTA members.
"We will make every effort over the next two weeks to get information out there so our members can make a decision," Okabe said by telephone. "It’s their contract and it’s their decision."
Okabe said restoring health insurance premiums was a key concern for HSTA negotiators. When the state imposed the current contract, it changed the teachers’ share of health insurance premiums to 50 percent from 40 percent.
"We’ve had members forgo coverage because otherwise they wouldn’t be able to pay their rent or mortgage," he said. "For us that was a big concern."
The sick-leave provision was also a victory for HSTA, given the demographics of its membership, Okabe said.
"Eighty percent of our members are women, and 60 percent are part of the millennial generation," he said. "We don’t want them to have to take a leave without pay when they go on maternity leave, so this was a huge thing for us to address."
Proposed Contract for HSTA
