Legal Judicial (Archives)

UHPA responds to media inquiry about our lawsuit

Some members of the media inquired whether UHPA’s lawsuit would be changed as a result of the announcement by the Governor to delay or defer the furloughs. The following response from our Executive Director Christian Fern provided the rationale for the lawsuit: "Since April of this year, Gov. Ige has continued to send mixed messages to public-sector unions about furloughs. The on-again, off-again messages have been unsettling. This has created a considerable amount of confusion among UHPA members. Today [12/23/20] we saw [...]

2020-12-30T19:55:27-10:00December 29, 2020|Frontpage, Legal Judicial, Monday Report|

UHPA Prevails in Obtaining Revised Contract Renewal Letters for Probationary Faculty

UHPA filed a class grievance regarding the failure to properly inform probationary faculty of the contract renewal recommendations by the DPC and Department/Division chair by December 20, 2018 as provided by the collective bargaining agreement. This information can be critical to any faculty member who may be subject to non-renewal or has performance deficits that may raise concerns with a Dean or Vice Chancellor. The December date enables a probationary faculty member to determine what options may guide their future employment and [...]

UHPA’s Series of Requests to Meet Repeatedly Ignored; Prohibited Practice Complaint Filed

NEWS RELEASE Date: August 6, 2018 Contact: Kris Hanselman Executive Director (808) 593-2157 kris@uhpa.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Gov. David Ige and State Comptroller’s Inattention to University of Hawaii Professional Assembly and U.S. Supreme Court Ruling Result in Inaccurate Payroll Deductions for UH Faculty UHPA’s Series of Requests to Meet Repeatedly Ignored; UHPA Files Prohibited Practice Complaint with Hawaii Labor Relations Board The University of Hawaii Professional Assembly (UHPA), the union that represents UH faculty, filed a prohibited practice complaint against the governor [...]

2018-08-20T15:28:44-10:00August 6, 2018|Frontpage, Legal Judicial|

UHPA formally issues Demand to Bargain over Letters of Hire

On Thursday, October 27, UHPA sent the below letter via certified mail to President Lassner to address the unresolved issue over letters of hire which we have previously discussed. Kristeen Hanselman, Executive Director for UHPA, explained the rationale behind this Demand to Bargain: “UHPA is committed to ensuring that faculty members are not subject to the arbitrary whims of administrators who fail to meet their commitments contained within letters of hire. There has not been a constructive outcome that advances the rights [...]

2016-10-31T11:28:55-10:00October 28, 2016|Contract negotiations, Frontpage, Legal Judicial, Newsletter|

Your Letter of Hire: Now you see it, Now you don’t

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 [...]

2016-06-29T14:26:39-10:00June 24, 2016|Frontpage, Legal Judicial, Newsletter|

Your Faculty Terms of Employment are at Risk

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 [...]

2016-06-24T16:45:45-10:00June 16, 2016|Frontpage, Legal Judicial, Newsletter|

UH Mismanagement No Longer Confined to Athletics

NEWS RELEASE Date:               February 2, 2016 Contact:         Kris Hanselman, Executive Director  (kris@uhpa.org / (808) 593-2157) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE UH Mismanagement No Longer Confined to Athletics Department Hawaii Labor Relations Board to Weigh Merits of Prohibited Practice Complaint on Thursday, February 4, at 9 a.m. Ongoing mismanagement of personnel and the breaking of promises at the University of Hawaii are no longer limited to the athletics department. These factors now impede good instruction and research, and threaten the ability to attract and retain [...]

It’s time for UH Manoa to Honor their Commitments to Faculty Members. UHPA Prohibited Practice Filed

On December 21, UHPA filed a prohibited practice charge with the Hawaii Labor Relations Board charging Natural Science Interim Dean Kumashiro with unilaterally and improperly canceling agreements contained within letters of hire and supplemental terms of service for department chairs. This is an important case to protect the rights of faculty in advancing the ability of UHPA to bargain and enforce letters of hire and the conditions set forth within. A promise broken In the case of Dr. Kevin Bennett, UH Manoa [...]

2018-05-21T15:02:20-10:00December 29, 2015|Academic, Frontpage, Legal Judicial, Newsletter, System Policy, UH Funding|

UHPA Files Prohibited Practice for a Failure to Bargain Wages at Cancer Center

UHPA has requested that the Hawaii Labor Relations Board address the employer's unilaterial implementation of wages through the UHCC Consortium, an entity that is not regulated by the employer. A number of UH administrators are on the Board of the Consortium and are agents of the University. The payment of wages through an external mechanism evades the employers bargaining obligations. It also denies UHPA income as allowed by law for dues deductions. Employees may have also have been deprived of ERS contributions [...]

2015-08-24T20:34:04-10:00August 24, 2015|Frontpage, Legal Judicial, Newsletter|
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