Abercrombie: 'Happy to Entertain Counteroffers' From Teachers Union

Gov. Neil Abercrombie on Thursday said he is open to "adjustments or mediation" to resolve the contract impasse with the Hawaii State Teachers Association, but he says the state hasn't received any formal offer.

"I am always happy to entertain any counteroffers or other approaches that people want to take, but we don't have anything. Nothing's come up," he said. "So, we have to move ahead, we are going to move ahead."

As for the personal request from the HSTA's Wil Okabe on Tuesday urging the governor to return to the negotiating table, Abercrombie said, "It's not so much getting back to the table — the table was gotten to. The contract's been implemented."

The governor reiterated his message that teachers must sacrifice, and that calls for a 5 percent pay cut and an increase in health-care payments. The state imposed the terms on July 1 after saying negotiations reached impasse. The union has appealed to the Labor Relations Board.

"We've managed to move from being hundreds of millions of dollars in the red to at least being even starting with the fiscal year," he said of the state's budget. "And we're going to have the health-care costs under control as best we can. ... Yes, everybody is going to see that they're paying more for their health-care costs, because it costs more. And we're all in this together. ... "