Hawaii teachers to vote on tentative agreement

HONOLULU (AP) -- Hawaii's public school teachers will be voting on a tentative agreement reached with the state.

Hawaii State Teachers Association members will be voting on the contract Wednesday.

The union and the state sought help from a federal mediator and reached an agreement on March 24. The deal restores a previous 5 percent pay cut and gives teachers a 3 percent raise on top of that in July. Teachers will get raises of 3 percent and 3.2 percent in following years. They'll also have a say in statewide decisions about evaluations.

The last contract expired in June 2011. Teachers voted down a contract offer last year, then tried to pressure the state to accept it later by voting on it again and approving it.

HSTA represents more than 13,000 teachers statewide.

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Union: Hawaii teachers vote on contract in April

HONOLULU (AP) -- Hawaii's teachers union has set an April 17 date to vote on a new contract.

The vote comes after a tentative deal was reached over the weekend between the Hawaii State Teachers Association and the state.

Union officials said on the association's Facebook page early Monday that before the vote, teachers will be able to review the contract and ask questions at information sessions before the final vote.

The union also posted a link to the 106-page agreement.

The teachers' last contract expired in June 2011.

Teachers voted down a contract offer in January last year, then tried to pressure the state to accepting it later by voting on it again and passing it.

The sides sought the help of a federal mediator this month.

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