OUR UNION | JOIN HGEA | BENEFITS & PROGRAMS | NEWS | IT’S POLITICAL

July 6, 2021

Governor Ige Vetoes Teacher Bonus

Today Gov. David Ige announced his veto of 26 bills, including H.B. 613, which would have given every full-time and part-time teacher a $2200 bonus. The Legislature allowed the veto to stand; therefore, the $2200 bonus will not be enacted or funded.

A sincere thank you to the hundreds of members who reached out to the Governor in support of our constitutionally protected collective bargaining process.

As Executive Director Randy Perreira stated in his video message last week, our objection to the teacher bonus is based on the violation of the spirit and intent of the Constitution and collective bargaining law. Any changes to your salary and conditions of employment must be negotiated and it was wrong for the Legislature to interfere with the bargaining process.

May 17, 2021

CALL TO ACTION: Urge Gov. Ige to Veto

HB 613 Giving $2,200 Bonuses to Teachers

Let your voices be heard! Urge Gov. Ige to veto HB 613, which the State Legislature passed and would give every full-time and part-time public-school teacher in Hawaii a one-time $2,200 “bonus” payment at a total cost of $29.7 million. In addition to singling out and rewarding one profession over all others, this legislation violates the collective bargaining process.

Even Gov. Ige said the legislators “don’t have authority to give that money to teachers. We are negotiating a contract. If we arrive at some agreement that includes a bonus, then we’ll pay the bonus, but it has to be part of the contract.”

Here’s some information that may help with your message to Gov. Ige:

• This bill ignores the hard work and sacrifices of all other public employees who continue to provide educational and other public services and who were/are at risk of contracting COVID-19 while working on the frontlines.
• The Legislature disregarded collective bargaining, and on the last day of the 2021 Legislative Session passed HB 613, interfering with the negotiations process of the union and the employer.
• The federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund monies were intended to provide schools with the necessary resources to help safely return to and maximize in-person instruction and maintain the operation and continuity of all school services, not just the services provided by one profession.
• Read HGEA Executive Director Randy Perreira’s letter to Gov. David Ige requesting that he veto HB 613.

Sample of comments to Gov. Ige using online form

Tell Gov. Ige how you feel. Please fill out a short form in the link below, and tell him you oppose this bill and urge him to veto HB 613.

Phone: (808) 543-0000 | Web: www.hgea.org

Send us an Email

OAHU: service@hgea.org

HAWAII: hawaiidiv@hgea.org

MAUI: mauidiv@hgea.org

KAUAI: kauaidiv@hgea.org

NOTICE: If you have subscribed to eBulletin with your work email address, we recommend that you use a personal or home email address instead, so that we can continue to provide you with all the latest union and benefits news. You can update your email address with two simple steps:

Go to your member dashboard at www.hgea.org/account/member-login and log in to update your information.Open any eBulletin email from the account that you do not want to use and scroll to the bottom. Click on “remove” and it will unsubscribe that email account from eBulletin. [Note: If your department does not allow you to access the “remove” link, please email helpdesk@hgea.org or communications@hgea.org.]

Please do not reply to this email as we are not able to respond to messages sent to this address. For a complete list of member discounts or for more HGEA news, please visit www.hgea.org. If you have specific inquiries, please contact your local HGEA office.

OAHU: 543-0000 BIG ISLAND: 935-6841 MAUI: 244-5508 KAUAI: 245-6751

Visit your subscription management page to modify your email communication preferences or update your personal profile. To stop ALL email from HGEA eBulletin, to remove yourself from our lists.