UHPA filed an appeal in Circuit Court challenging the Hawaii Labor Relations Board order addressing Letters of Hire. In the meantime, UH Manoa Interim Chancellor Bley-Vroman has issued a “Clarification of HLRB’s Ruling on Letters of Hire," which ironically affirms UHPA’s position. It is clear the University of Hawaii has no qualms choosing which letters or parts of a letter for hire to honor or not honor. The MRI purchasing decision was made in 2012 and now the administration claims there’s no [...]

The UH administration has declared war on faculty rights. It’s time to join together with UHPA and fight back. For 46 years, since the beginning of collective bargaining, letters of hire have established initial salaries, terms, and conditions of employment for UH faculty. There was no reason to doubt these letters were enforceable under normal grievance processes. Until now.In a radical departure from tradition, the UH now contends letters of hire can’t be enforced under the collective bargaining agreement, or at the [...]