STAND. COM. REP. NO. 39
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2005
RE: H.B. No. 121
H.D. 1
Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twenty-Third State Legislature
Regular Session of 2005
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committees on Labor and Public Employment and Education, to which was referred H.B. No. 121 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING IN PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT,"
beg leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this bill is to assist substitute teachers of the Department of Education (DOE) by:
(1) Establishing a separate collective bargaining unit for substitute teachers, including part-time substitute teachers working less than one-half of a full-time equivalent position; and
(2) Providing for impasse resolution for members of the new collective bargaining unit.
The Laborers' International Union of North America Local 386, AFL-CIO, the Substitute Teachers Professional Alliance, and a number of substitute teachers testified in support of this bill. The Hawaii State AFL-CIO supported the intent of the measure. The Department of Education (DOE) opposed this measure. The Department of Human Resources Development (DHRD) commented on the bill.
Substitute teachers provide a valuable service to the State's educational system. However, these individuals are currently without any form of representation within the public school system and are oftentimes treated like second-class citizens by permanent, full-time instructors, depending upon the situation at the public school to which the substitute is assigned. Your Committees also recognize that substitute teachers were recently forced to file a class action lawsuit to recover back pay from DOE.
Your Committees find that these problems can be mitigated through the establishment of a new collective bargaining unit for substitute teachers that would allow for fair and equal representation and give them the ability to collectively bargain for better working conditions.
However, your Committees also understand the concerns raised by DHRD that the bill, in its current form, may be construed to allow all part-time or casual employees working for DOE to be included as members of the newly created bargaining unit. This is not the intent of this measure.
Accordingly, your Committees have amended this measure by:
(1) Clarifying in Section 1 that the measure only applies to substitute teachers of DOE, including part-time substitute teachers working less than one-half of a full-time equivalent position; and
(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.
As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Labor and Public Employment and Education that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 121, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 121, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Labor and Public Employment and Education,
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____________________________ ROY TAKUMI, Chair |
____________________________ KIRK CALDWELL, Chair |
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