University of Hawaii students continue to fight for unionization

Student leaders working to unionize graduate assistants at the University of Hawaii said they plan to appeal the First Circuit Court’s denial of their lawsuit in a bid to win collective bargaining rights with the university.

In a decision filed Friday, Judge James Ashford granted motions by the UH Board of Regents and the Hawaii Labor Relations Board to dismiss the lawsuit. The judge agreed with the Board of Regents, which argued it was not the place to sue, and the HLRB, which said the plaintiff had not exhausted all of his remedies before going to court.

But Academic Labor United executives, who represent UH graduate assistants, said the lawsuit was dismissed on technical grounds to avoid setting a precedent.

“The judge didn’t want to rule in this case because he didn’t want him to interfere with other workers’ collective bargaining rights,” said Kawena’ulaokala Kapahua, one of the organizing chairs of Academic Labor United.

“Rather than boldly challenging the state’s decades-long denial of workers’ rights, it chose to force our appeal on technical grounds,” ALU chairman Alex Miller said in a statement.

Article XIII of the Hawaiian Constitution gives public employees the right to organize and bargain collectively. But the Hawaii Labor Relations Board ruled in 1972 that graduate assistants are not public employees and cannot organize or join UH ​​faculty and staff unions.

Several bills were introduced to the legislature to overturn the Working Committee’s decision, but none survived to become law. In 2015, House Bill 533 passed the House and Senate but was defeated by Governor David Ige. In 2020, a bill died in the House of Representatives.

In addition to the lawsuit, the ALU said it was again working with lawmakers in hopes of winning the union. Rep. Amy Perruso (D, Wahiawa-Whitmore-Poamoho) and Sen. Laura Acasio (D-Hilo) are expected to reintroduce a bill that would force the UH administration and state to debate issues such as fair pay and negotiate paid sick leave, job security and protection from harassment and abuse.

Kapahua said the bill may have a good chance of becoming law this year, especially as the litigation helps shed a new light on the issue.

“Our constitutional rights are being denied,” he said.

On the mainland there are dozens of unions representing college assistants – students employed to teach, do research and do clerical work.

UH spokesman Dan Meisenzahl declined to comment specifically on the lawsuit Wednesday.

Previously, UH had opposed bills that would give GAs collective bargaining rights because the university views GAs primarily as students and secondarily as employees, and the university questioned whether unionization actually provides a financial advantage for graduate students would.

“A research assistant position is not a long-term career,” Meisenzahl said, adding that GA positions are an integral part of graduate education and include training designed to help students prepare for their future careers or advance in current careers.

Assistants, he said, receive compensation for their work as well as the benefit of a tuition waiver. The minimum tier used at UH-Manoa is $18,930 for 9 month candidates and $22,140 for 11 month candidates.

Other benefits for GAs who work at least 20 hours per week include enrollment in the same health and benefits plans as unionized UH employees and access to a parking pass if required by their rental unit. GAs can file employment-related grievances, including reporting supervisors, and GAs who are also full-time students are exempt from FICA tax.

“The university values ​​its GAs very highly and has worked and will continue to work with the Graduate Student Organization, part of our campus administration, to address many of the issues raised by GAs in recent years,” said Meisenzahl.

But Kapahua said there are still many injustices for graduate students.

For example, he said: “During the pandemic, there is no way to get sick leave. So students with COVID still have to work and cannot afford to take the time off.”