Hawaii Gov Rejects Union's Mediation Request
08/08/2011
Katherine Poythress/Civil Beat
Gov. Neil Abercrombie on Monday rejected the Hawaii State Teachers Association's request for mediation of the contract he unilaterally imposed on teachers July 1.
In a joint statement, Abercrombie, Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi and Education Board Chairman Don Horner accused the union of negotiating through the media
"The HSTA filed its complaint with the Hawaii Labor Relations Board (HLRB) and we respect that process," said the statement. "We continue to be open to mediation through HLRB."
Last month, the union filed a legal complaint against the state that said the contract violated teachers' collective bargaining rights. But HSTA leaders said they saw last week in a YouTube video an opportunity to settle their dispute with the state in private instead of before the Labor Relations Board. Other unions had raised concerns about the potential ramifications of the case.
In the video, dated Aug. 2, Abercrombie tells HSTA-Retired President Wayne Joseph that he would prefer handling the matter in private rather than before a legal body in public.
"I'm ready today if we want to do do mediation or whatever it is," he says. "I'm ready."
HSTA President Wil Okabe told Civil Beat on Saturday that the union board took Abercrombie literally, so sent a letter to the governor taking him up on his "offer to renew a dialogue with us" and requesting arbitration.
But the statement released late Monday rejected the request. It said the union already declined the state's offer of mediation earlier this year.
The statement added that arbitration was not an option.
"It should be made clear that mediation is different from arbitration," he said. "Arbitration, which we have never offered, is not included in Hawaii’s statutory collective bargaining process with the HSTA."
The response from state leaders means that hearings in the HLRB case will begin Wednesday, as scheduled, unless something happens in the interim.
