Contract Re-opener a $58M Giveaway to HSTA

SA: The Hawaii State Teachers Association has negotiated additional compensation totaling $58.1 million over the next two years for its 13,500 members. Here is what they are getting....

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HSTA AND STATE REACH AGREEMENT ON CONTRACT REOPENER

Supplemental Agreement Covers Remainder of the 2013-2017 Contract

News Release from HSTA, April 22, 2015

Honolulu, Hawaii – The Hawaii State Teachers Association (HSTA) is pleased to announce that following contract reopener negotiations with the State of Hawaii and Board of Education, a Supplemental Agreement has been reached that will increase levels of salary and other compensation for its members for the remainder of their 2013- 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement.

“Teachers are pillars in the community who help to shape and enhance society through their commitment to our students,” said HSTA President Wil Okabe. “In order to pursue excellence in Hawai’i’s schools, we must continue to work towards the level of compensation and support necessary to attract and retain teaching professionals who are committed to student learning in Hawaii’s public and public charter schools.”

As part of the 2013-2017 HSTA Collective Bargaining Agreement, the union and the State reopened the current teacher contract to specifically address issues related to salary and other compensation. The contract reopener negotiations took into consideration a joint salary study conducted by the HSTA and the Department of Education (DOE) as required by the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The results of the “Study of Hawaii’s Compensation System” are available online at http://bit.ly/1DAbdrt. The settlement reflects movement in addressing issues that were identified in the salary study. The contract reopener negotiations also took into consideration the additional time teachers are required to work to meet the goals and priorities of the DOE strategic plan.

Modifications to the HSTA contract include increased levels of salary and other compensation for the remainder of the 2013-2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement, and include:

• One-time lump sum payment of $2000 for all active, full-time licensed teachers who have completed probation or began serving probation prior to July 1, 2013. Half-time teachers will receive $1,000. This is in addition to the current agreement which calls for a step movement (3%) at the start of the 2015-2016 school year, or $1,500 bonus for teachers on step 14B. 
• Base Salary Increase: Effective on the last day of the current contract, June 30, 2017, the teacher salary schedule shall be amended to reflect an across-the-board (ATB) increase of 1.8 percent. New teachers will also benefit from the 1.8 percent ATB value. This is in addition to the current agreement, which established a 3.2 percent ATB increase to teachers’ base salary at the start of the 2016-2017 school year. 
• Additional Professional Development Hours: The current 21 hours of job embedded Professional Development (PD) will be renewed and modified for the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 school years. The new agreement will continue to provide professional development opportunities, compensation for workload and will now include teacher input in scheduling. 
• Hawaii Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund: EUTF Active Plans that are not connected to the “formerly under HSTA VEBA” programs will be raised to parity level with the employer contributions for Units 6 (Educational officers) and 13 (Professional and scientific employees).

The monthly and annual savings for members in 2015-2016 include:

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SA: Hawaii teachers reach tentative salary agreement with state