Joan Husted’s outlook on collective bargaining, unity still resonates today
Posted: May 14, 2024
Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association President Osa Tui, Jr. honored the union’s foundations while advocating for a unified future at HSTA’s 51st annual state convention on April 13.
“Oftentimes, HSTA is viewed as just the entity for handling bargaining and grievances, but HSTA is so much more,” Tui told over 200 member delegates from across the state at the Hawaiʻi Convention Center.
HSTA’s history as told by a fearless pioneer for the union
Inspired by video interviews with the late HSTA executive director and tireless teacher advocate Joan Husted, Tui recounted the start of HSTA and of collective bargaining in Hawaiʻi, the art of negotiations, and the future for public sector unions.
In a series of clips shown during Tui’s speech, Husted spoke about the creation of HSTA in 1971 and collective bargaining’s crucial role in helping teachers feel happy in the classroom.
“What inspired HSTA to be created is now a word that you’re starting to hear again, and that was empowerment,” Husted said. “We wanted teachers to be empowered to have a say in what happened in their schools. We wanted teachers to be paid as professionals. We wanted teachers to have some of the benefits that other school districts just took for granted, like preparation periods and duty-free lunch periods.”
Tui followed, “Joan was right then, and what she said still holds today.
“Teachers want to be empowered, and too often, administrators and leaders in the department and at our charter schools are reluctant to engage in shared decision-making,” Tui said.
A solid contract won through valuable relationships
HSTA members are finishing up the first year of a four-year contract, and Tui pointed to valuable relationships as holding the key to securing a strong contract, ratified by 92% of members.
In another video clip, Husted shared sage advice from Tommy Trask, a Hawaiʻi labor union official and activist at the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.
“He said, ‘Joan, I want you to learn one lesson in bargaining. Hawaiʻi is a community of relationships. You can disagree all you want on the issue, but don’t be disagreeable at the bargaining table,’ and that was the most valuable lesson I learned,” Husted shared about her colleague from ILWU.
Tui agrees. “It’s about relationships. I can’t tell you how important that was in our last bargain,” he said.
“Literally, as things were going to turn sour again at the last minute, a quick text to (Gov. Josh Green) had him at HSTA within minutes, and a tentative agreement hammered out not long after that,” he added.
HSTA supports victims, pledges continued advocacy after devastating wildfires
“As the afternoon and evening of Tuesday, August 8, came, word of terrible fires started to trickle in. Nobody imagined the horror that was to come,” Tui said, referring to the deadly Lahaina wildfires that claimed more than 100 lives, destroyed 100 homes of educators and retirees, and burned an entire elementary school, rendering it unusable.
He recounted the efforts HSTA made to support members in the aftermath, including sending supplies to members, organizing community meetings, providing relief checks to those who lost their homes and/or classrooms, and more.
Tui especially thanked Maui-based HSTA staff “who have gone above and beyond throughout this entire ordeal.”
He promised that the HSTA will “continue to advocate throughout this ordeal, whether it’s about EES (teacher evaluations), teacher transfers, or as you may have recently seen, water and sewage issues at the new King Kamehameha III campus at Pulelehua. We will also be actively engaged when discussions begin regarding the permanent replacement campus for King Kamehameha III Elementary.”
Ushering in a strong, resilient future
These actions cannot be accomplished without strong union membership, and Tui encouraged all HSTA members to share the importance and value of membership with their colleagues.
“When we’re not vigilant about recruiting members, our collective power erodes just a little bit more with each loss,” he said. “It’s all of our kuleana to ensure that new hires are aware of the importance of membership.”
The president shared a few reasons why members joined HSTA in a recent survey, including fighting for better pay and benefits, legal protection, and improving conditions and services for students and public schools.
Tui thanked school-level, chapter-level, and state-level leaders, HSTA staff, and member delegates, all of whom help set the direction of HSTA.
“Mahalo to all of you for the opportunity to serve as your president for one more term. I am truly thankful to be able to represent you!” he said.
