Pay raises, improved working conditions take effect July 1

The Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association (HSTA) is pleased to announce that Bargaining Unit 05 (BU05) employees of the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education (HIDOE) and public charter schools voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new four-year contract. HSTA is the exclusive BU05 representative.

The final results, updated May 4, are: 92.3% of the 7,721 valid ballots cast approved the contract that will take effect July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2027; 7.5% voted against the contract.

For the first time since 2017, members voted in person at 31 polling sites across the state on Wednesday, April 26. A final tally was taken on May 4 to account for outstanding absentee ballots, but did not change the outcome of the ratification vote. The ballots will be held for 90 calendar days in the event a challenge is raised.

HSTA President Osa Tui, Jr. said, “HSTA thanks bargaining unit members who came out today to ratify a new four-year contract which will help to recruit and retain teachers and give further stability for our keiki to have highly qualified teachers in their classrooms.

“Mahalo to Gov. Green, Superintendent Hayashi, and the Board of Education for sitting with us at the bargaining table for the past few months to be able to bring this agreement to our members. In addition to the improvements to compensation and working conditions we’ve been able to make through this new contract, we also send mahalo to our legislators, governor, and lieutenant governor as we make progress at the Legislature on important items such as teacher housing, public preschool, and teacher tax credits,” Tui added.

Wednesday’s ratification paves the way for state lawmakers to approve the $577 million to fund the contract before the end of the legislative session.

Teachers share their reasons for voting ‘yes’

Chris Facuri, a media production teacher at Aliamanu Middle School, has been an educator for 35 years and voted in favor of HSTA’s contract.

“This is probably one of the more substantial raises that we’ve had, and it’s good to see that we’re going in a positive direction, especially for the senior teachers,” Facuri said. “At least you got an incentive for them to kind of keep on going and pursue their career.”

Sherry Rose, an English teacher at Farrington High School, is in her 52nd year of teaching in Hawaiʻi and says the new contract will keep her in the classroom.

“Many of the things that we got were important for teachers, not only teachers now, but moving forward,” Rose said. “We never have enough qualified teachers, and part of it is we don’t pay teachers enough. We don’t give them enough support always, not only in the classroom, but all the other things that they have to do outside of the classroom, and so this contract addresses many of those kinds of things.”

Daryl Fujino, a kindergarten teacher at ʻAiea Elementary and teacher for 30 years, voted yes on Wednesday’s contract.

“I’m looking at the pay increase, which is going to be helpful,” Fujino said. “The Negotiations Team did a great job of getting whatever we could get from the state. And I know a lot of people aren’t happy about everything, but you can’t please everybody. I always appreciate what the Negotiations Team does for us, because I know they’re looking out for the best interest of all the teachers.”

Richard Coffey, a first-year science teacher at Aliamanu Middle, said he voted to ratify the contract because “as a single adult, it’s kind of hard to live here in Hawaiʻi.

“Being able to have an increase in pay allows me to more comfortably live here so I don’t have to rely so much on thinking how I’m going to live from day to day and more on how I can focus on teaching,” Coffey said.

Kuulei Arakaki, a McKinley High special education teacher, said, “We need a contract. We need to get our raises. We work super hard. We put in like 60–70 hour weeks and yeah, we deserve to get a little bit of a pay hike.”

Eric Malina, a counselor at Royal School, said, “It just seemed like it was really fair, and it kind of benefits everybody in the union from the top to the bottom, and I think considering everything that’s been going I think it was a really good contract for us to ratify.”

Central District autism consultant teacher Juliana Romero said the contract is a step in the right direction. “I think it’s very good. I think it addresses the needs of the new teachers coming in, and it also addresses the needs of all teachers,” Romero said. “It might not be the perfect contract, but it’s good progress.”

Chelsey Muroda, a counselor at Farrington High, is in her eighth year of teaching. “When I was hired, I actually came in at a good contract, so my first experience with a not-as-good one was during COVID.

“For me to not have step movements every other year, or to not have the across-the-board raises, that was different,” Muroda said. “So when I saw that we were getting those back, I thought that was one of the main reasons that it was very strong. I also enjoyed that we got our 21 hours of professional development back, not to mention the extra class of Class VIII. That’s something. I’ve been stuck at Class VII for maybe about five years now.”

Contract ratification vote photo gallery

HSTA shares information, resources about the contract

Once a tentative agreement was reached on April 14 and the HSTA Negotiations Committee and Board of Directors unanimously recommended ratification, the HSTA informed BU05 members of the development via web posts, Member Matters emails, and push alert notifications through HSTA’s mobile app. HSTA posted the agreement along with a comprehensive summary and rationale, frequently asked questions, and voting information. Our union also held a webinar to brief members on the tentative contract and answer questions and concerns ahead of Wednesday’s vote.

Mahalo to our HSTA Negotiations Team for their hard work to reach a settlement!

HSTA Negotiations Team

  • Diane Mokuau, Committee Chair (Molokaʻi Chapter)
  • Jenne Olayon, Committee Vice Chair (Hilo Chapter)
  • David Negaard, Committee Member (Maui Chapter)
  • Kathy Shibuya, Committee Member (Kauaʻi Chapter)
  • Osa Tui, Jr., HSTA President
  • Logan Okita, HSTA Vice President
  • Lisa Morrison, HSTA Secretary-Treasurer

HSTA Staff

  • Ann Mahi, HSTA Executive Director
  • Andrea Eshelman, HSTA Chief Negotiator and Deputy Executive Director
  • Colleen Bird, HSTA Negotiations and Research Specialist