A Comparison of Impasse Procedures in the Public and Private Sectors: The Hawaii State Teacher's Experience

The Hawaii State Teachers Assn. (HSTA) used strikes several times during the 1971-75 period, activating the state's complex impasse procedures. Significant differences between public and private sector labor relations emerged as the HSTA countered the sovereignty doctrine, decentralization of governmental authority, arbitration, and judicial action by engaging in legislative lobbying tactics. The HSTA also supported political pressures forced on municipal officials by strike action. An analysis of the experience of HSTA with the Hawaii Public Employee Relations Act from 1971-75 documents problems that academics have noted as unique variables in public sector collective bargaining. Controversy over the right to strike was based on the notion that public employees provide essential services and must not endanger the health, safety, and welfare of the public by, for instance, striking. However, an objective assessment of the situation indicates that the strike mechanism or threat of strike was ultimately the deciding factor.