Labor Board answers Supreme Court in teachers case

The Hawaii Labor Relations Board is offering no timeline for a decision in the prohibited-practice complaint the teachers union filed against the governor. That’s according to an answer the board has filed on demand of the Hawaii Supreme Court.

In September, the HSTA asked the Hawaii Supreme Court to force HLRB to come out with a ruling in the case that started in July 2011 and lasted nearly a year in hearings. The Supreme Court denied the HSTA’s petition last month, but gave the HLRB 20 days to respond about what was taking so long.

In the response, due today, HLRB took the position that it can’t be forced to issue injunctive relief while it’s still working on a final decision, and that the timing of its conclusion should remain at the board’s own discretion, not the court’s.

"The Board has not abused its discretion," the HLRB told the Supreme Court in the response filed Thursday afternoon.

The HLRB told the court it’s still reviewing the "voluminous record and the legislative and constitutional history…."and reminded the court the case includes 5,000 pages of transcripts, 2,800 pages of Complainant’s exhibits and 250 pages of Respondents exhibits. The board said that having to issue an interim ruling "would cause further delay in issuing a final decision and order."

This comes despite the board understanding, per the filing, that the delay in the decision "deprives HSTA of having its constitutional challenges heard by the circuit court and denies its members the right to strike over negotiations that remain unresolved."

In the case before the board, the HSTA alleges its constitutionally protected collective bargaining rights were violated by the state’s imposition of a final contract. The union wants salaries and health premiums to revert to what they were June 30, 2011.

HSTA’s president and executive director were not immediately available for comment. Upon the Supreme Court’s demand weeks ago for an explanation of the delay, HSTA President Wil Okabe had said: "The sooner we can get to resolution of the dispute between Hawaii’s teachers and the governor regarding a fair contract, the better. This ongoing dispute has been a distraction to Hawaii’s teachers, parents and students."

Separately, talks with a federal mediator failed.

Meanwhile, negotiations on a new contract are set to begin next week.