Category Archives: Labor

The “Big Picture”–Have things gotten better in island politics?

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Yesterday’s post about “corruption” in Hawaii drew a number of good responses, with a lively exchange of viewpoints.

This one caught my eye, as it raises a new issue.

Somehow, I don’t think Jack Hall or Bob Oshiro would think the obstacles progressives face in Hawaii are anything compared to the barriers that they faced.

The question: How do political conditions in Hawaii in 2012 compare what was faced by previous generations of activists? Choose your period for comparison–the 1930s? 1950s? 1970s?

Thinking back to the plantation era and the domination of the Big Five sugar factors, I think it would be hard to make the case that political power in Hawaii is more concentrated today than it was during much of the 20th century.

In terms of the legislature, again there seems to be clear progress in opening up the legislative process, when viewed over several decades or more.

Your thoughts, with some specific examples or references where possible, please! Let’s keep focused on Hawaii. The national mess is perhaps a whole different story.

UH faculty union leader announces intent to step down in 2015

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J.N. Musto, longtime executive director of the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly, the union representing faculty throughout the UH system, has announced his intention to step down from his post at the end of his current contract, according to a summary of the May 2012 UHPA Board of Directors meeting sent to all members.

Musto “stated that he will not seek or accept another employment contract” when his current contract expires on August 31, 2015.

Musto has been at the UHPA helm for over 30 years. According to testimony last year in support of his appointment to the Education Commission of the States, he joined UHPA as director in 1980, although a Star-Advertiser profile last year dated his tenure to 1979.

In addition to his duties as executive director, Musto served as the union’s chief negotiator during bargaining with the state. The union has been involved in two strikes under his leadership. During Musto’s tenure, UHPA has also developed considerable political clout, and has backed its political endorsements with cash and other forms of campaign support for its candidates of choice.

UHPA directors received a memo from Musto discussing major issues to be faced over the next three years, including negotiating a new contract and planning for the transition to a new executive director. The board approved releasing Musto from his regular duties over the next year in order to work on that transition plan, which is scheduled to be considered by the UHPA board in May 2013.

Musto earned a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1973, with a dissertation titled, “Policies, practices, and extent of professional staff reductions in selected Michigan school districts.”

In Senate testimony last year, Musto described his own educational background:

My personal public school experience includes being part of the post-Sputnik science revolution as a student in the “new educational reform” of inquiry- based science education in the specialized high school physics program. I went on to become a junior high school and high school biology teacher, active in the development, research, and teaching of the various methods of the BSCS biology curriculum. My acadeqric pursuit then turned from science to law and education, and experiencing the challenge of achieving the Ph.D. I went on to teach educational law, public sector employment, while also spending two years supervising student teachers in both Michigan and Wisconsin. In a word, I have seen it all from education on the Indian reservations to the most advanced university research facilities.

J.N. is one of those leaders who manages to polish labor’s image in the community. His departure, even though planned well in advance, will mark a major transition for UHPA and the university, and likely the larger labor community as well.

DC court slaps Tribune-Herald for numerous labor law violations

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By now, you’ve likely read or heard about the Federal Appeals Court in D.C. blasting the Hawaii Tribune-Herald’s union busting actions in a decision issued on Friday.

The ruling came on an appeal by T-H owner, Stephens Media LLC, of a prior scathing ruling of the National Labor Relations Board which found the newspaper had a committed a string of violations of federal labor law.

At issue were the suspensions of several employees and firing of reporters Dave Smith and Hunter Bishop for what the NLRB says were union activities protected by federal law.

A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals rejected all of the company’s defenses, calling one justification “pretextual,” while others were rejected after being supported by testimony of what the court said were “expressly discredited witnesses.”

Sherry Bracken did a good summary of the decision, as did Jennifer Sinco Kelleher of Associated Press.

The decision contained on specific item of special interest to bloggers. The company pointed to blog posts about the newspaper by Hunter Bishop following his firing.

From the court decision:

The Company argues that it had cause to fire Bishop, because his postdischarge conduct was blatantly disloyal to the Company. In support of this claim, the Company points out that Bishop stated at a public event that the Company suffered from organizational and management problems…and that he made other
disparaging statements about the Company on his blog….

But the company arguments had been rejected earlier by both the original administrative law judge, and later by the NLRB.

The administrative law judge ruled the comments, including blog posts, were not “maliciously false, i.e., statements made with knowledge of their falsity or with reckless disregard for their truth or falsity.”

The NLRB’s took a slightly different position:

The Board held that in the latter set of circumstances – i.e., where an employer seeks to avoid its obligations based on an employee’s postdischarge misconduct – the employer “has the burden of proving misconduct so flagrant as to render the employee unfit for further service, or a threat to efficiency in the plant.”

Both found Hunters comments, made following his firing, were proper.

Additional company arguments were rejected on a legal technicality, with the court ruling they had not been raised before the NLRB and so were effectively waived.

But the advice to bloggers writing about their former companies is clear. Avoid those “maliciously false” statements if you want to stay out of trouble. Of course, that’s very good advice generally.

In any case, the decision also reviews the factual background of the case, including descriptions of union-management clashes within the newspaper. It certainly sounds like a dismal workplace environment.