Facing Goliath: Representation

The Hawaii State Teachers Association was originally created with the sole mission of serving the needs of Hawaii's public school teachers, in all facets of their professional lives.
The saga of HSTA began in 1971 when teachers were called upon to decide first if they desired organized representation at all and then, which organization they would select to represent them. For the newly coalesced Association, its staff and leadership, those early months represented a battle against the forces that were satisfied with the way things had always been.

The representative election pitted HSTA against the Hawaii Federation of Teachers. HFT was a "pure" union that devoted itself to addressing the "bread-and-butter" issues of employment, wages, hours and working conditions.

On the other side of the ballot, HSTA had developed a more holistic yin-and-yang approach to the situation combining the basics with a strong focus on professional issues and development. For HSTA it was about more than getting a better deal for teachers - it was about putting teachers in the driver's seat, where they would have a chance to make education better.

With creativity, energy, effort and sheer willpower, the Association convinced the "Old Guard" that dramatic change and possible confrontation - even a strike - were the only real ways to ensure that teachers could win a better deal for themselves on every level from personal job satisfaction to professional recognition and reward.

The beginning was a time when conflict between the growing wave of militancy among teachers and the steadfast undercurrent of "going-along-to-get-along" suddenly came to a head. Not surprisingly, victory ultimately came to the Association, speaking out in favor of teachers; taking a stand to show that they would no longer accept what the administration chose to offer them.

Almost immediately, their presence infused teachers throughout the state with new ideas, fresh perspective and a growing interest in the power of activism.


Facing Goliath: Negotiation

No one in Hawaii at the time had much experience with teacher bargaining. Yet with grace and great composure they took up their position and refused to be bullied into accepting things as they had always been.
Although the Association eventually won the representation race with HFT by a resounding margin, it took two separate ballots and brought the first HSTA negotiations team screeching up to meet the employer at the bargaining table with little time to spare.

In December 1971, the DOE still considered such items as duty-free lunch periods, scheduling of parent-teacher conferences, holiday and vacation schedules, work-year configuration and Teacher Institute Days to be specifically non-negotiable. HSTA negotiators knew what teachers wanted, needed, and they would not be swayed.

Finally, in October 1971, a legal impasse was declared and HSTA petitioned the Hawaii Public Employee Relations Board to assign a mediator. Despite all efforts, the impasse held fast into the Spring of 1972. Governor John A. Burns, who had enjoyed an era of relative peace with labor forces up to this point, was suddenly thrust into the center of a powerful, well-organized dispute with a determined adversary, Hawaii's public school teachers.

For the Association membership, it was a heady time.

Teachers, who previously had no voice in the public arena, suddenly found their cause championed not only by an aggressive representative body but also by the sympathetic media.

Unfortunately, contract talks continued to stall until a strike vote was called on January 31, 1972. Teachers were tired of bargaining in good faith when the DOE appeared to be more than willing to do no more than come to the table and sit.

It was truly the antithesis of collective bargaining and the impetus that drove even the most reluctant teachers to agree that a strike was the last best option. After so many years of being taken for granted, teachers were fed up and ready to take action. Once they had a taste of the power of collective action, not even the Governor had the power to put the genie back in the bottle.

Hawaii's first teachers strike was called for midnight February 17, 1972. Nothing short of direct intervention by the Governor could stop it. Left with no alternative, Gov. Burns personally sat with the Association's Chief Negotiator John Dunlop and hammered out the language of the contract provision on preparation periods for teachers. Finally, at 5:45 a.m. on February 17, the walkout was averted.

Round One was over, but the fundamental clash between the Association and the employer was still far from being resolved.


Facing Goliath: Strike

With continuing and in some ways escalating friction with the DOE, a second strike vote was called in the Spring of 1973. It was fueled by two years of pent-up frustration over the lack of good faith implementation of the contract.

Despite clear evidence of the power and support teachers had in the community, the administration continued to stonewall all attempts at meaningful reform.
This time, nothing could be done to avert the walkout. Teachers had been backed into a corner and they came out swinging.

Schools remained closed for 18 days.

Association officials who were at the thick of things received death threats and hired bodyguards. Teachers agonized over the shutdown, knowing that the ultimate victims were the students. On the opposition side, there was a pervasive sense of paranoia. U.S. President Richard Nixon dispatched four generals from the Pentagon to monitor the situation and the FBI began photographing teachers on the picket line.

The community was wrenched by the strike and yet the media and parents remained staunch supporters of teachers and their cause. The question came down to whether teachers had struggled and sacrificed to come to this point only to be thrust right back to where they had started. The answer was clear - teachers believed the principle was well worth the sacrifice.

They put their faith in the Association and forged ahead. In the end, teachers found themselves doing things they had never imagined they would, but their efforts dramatically altered public perception of what the fledgling organization and its members were capable of. They had forced the State to take notice, at last.

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