While the semester has come to an end and our members are taking a well-deserved break, the work of the Hawaii State Teachers Association continues.

On Dec. 28, HSTA held a live briefing to inform members on furlough threats, our response, and other COVID-19-related updates and actions. Several developments have occurred relating to the governor’s threat of furloughing state employees. We are providing this opportunity to try to clarify what we know, share what we are still seeking answers to, and gather any additional questions members may have about the furlough threat.

Make sure you are subscribed to our Member Matters email newsletter and continue to check our website for the latest updates. If you have individual concerns and questions, submit your message here and it will be routed to the appropriate person for follow-up.

As a refresher, here is a brief overview of the last several weeks.

Wednesday, Dec. 9: The governor announced he would implement furloughs for state workers starting Jan. 1. The governor also stated that the Hawaii State Department of Education would have a different schedule determined by the superintendent. The superintendent responded with two emails indicating that the furlough plan would come out soon.

Monday, Dec. 14: The superintendent put out a schedule of the furloughs, which were scheduled for Jan. 4 and Feb. 12 with future furloughs listed as “projected.”

Friday, Dec. 18: The HSTA filed a prohibited practice complaint with the Hawaii Labor Relations Board (HLRB). In short, we challenged the governor and superintendent’s unilateral imposition of furloughs starting Jan. 4.

Wednesday, Dec. 23: The governor and superintendent announced, as a result of federal stimulus, that the January furlough day was “no longer being implemented,” and the Feb. 12 day and others were dependent on federal relief.

Sunday, Dec. 27: President Trump signed the stimulus bill, paving the way for approximately $178 million for Hawaii’s schools.

However, it should be noted that the governor’s message to employees also stated that “it’s impossible to provide a date that the furloughs will begin.”

HSTA has not withdrawn our HLRB complaint. We are currently waiting for meetings with the employer, representatives of both the superintendent and the governor, to get more information regarding their recent announcement delaying furloughs. Once we have more information, we will make further decisions about pending legal action and update members.

In the meantime, we are sure that members still have questions regarding the future threat of furloughs. Many of them, we do not have answers to, like:

• Even if there are fewer furlough days, will members still see 9-percent pay cuts?
• Will pay cuts, if any, be spread out among paychecks during the second semester?
• Why are 12-month teachers expected to take much larger cuts in proportion to 10-month teachers?
• Should we anticipate higher cuts next school year if we see smaller cuts for the rest of this school year?

What we know about spring 2021

First, we are asking that the HIDOE require all principals to reach out by phone and mail to notify employees that they will not be furloughed on Jan. 4, and that they need to report to work. This is to ensure all teachers get the message. Please let your colleagues know as well.

If you made some sort of travel arrangements or other personal business on Jan. 4 which you can’t change, you should request personal leave so that you are not considered AWOL on the teacher workday.

While charter schools received approximately $6 million in budget cuts at the beginning of this school year, they were not part of the HIDOE announced furlough plan. If your school has announced any cuts or furloughs for spring semester, please let us know as we will likely have to address your school’s situation separately.

Secondly, we are also trying to confirm if the state has “undone” any of the payroll systems programing for the January furlough on the payroll system. We are concerned that even with the governor’s announcement of pulling back on the imposed furloughs, that DAGS already programed the furlough to be calculated in the Jan. 20 paycheck prior to the holidays.

Lastly, things are still very unclear right now. The governor could change his mind later and attempt to impose furloughs again this spring. This is a violation of our collective bargaining agreement, and we would challenge any attempt to impose furloughs.