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HGEA News
Hawaii Government Employees Association
888 Mililani Street, Suite 401
Honolulu, HI 96813
Author: Malulani Moreno
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💪🚨The fight is still on!
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HGEA News
Hawaii Government Employees Association
888 Mililani Street, Suite 401
Honolulu, HI 96813
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Send Lawmakers Your Opposition to the DOE Restructuring Bill
On Wednesday, Feb. 25 the Senate Ways and Means Committee is set to hear Sen. Donna Mercado Kim’s bill (SB 3334) that attacks the way principals are selected and evaluated, as well as restructures the school system. We need you to tell lawmakers, “Hands off DOE.”
Wednesday, Feb. 25, 10:55 AM
Conference Room 211 & Videoconference
Hawaii State CapitolNow is not the time to let up on the gas. Lawmakers are restricting testimony to written only — so we need to send the committee our opposition. Submit your testimony now. You have until 10:55 tomorrow morning, or else your testimony will be marked late and may not be considered.
After the Friday, Feb. 13 Education Committee hearing, Sen. Kim lashed out on the Senate floor to call you names. We rebuked Sen. Kim for her bullying tactics, but some senators have doubled-down. Sen. Glenn Wakai told a Kalihi neighborhood board that you showed up on Feb. 13 to “defend the status quo.”
We need to remind these senators that principals, vice principals and other educational officers are highly educated and highly credentialed — you are the experts on how to run our schools, not them.
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In the News: Union Rebukes Senator as School Leadership Bill Sparks Capitol Clash
After obtaining a letter from HGEA addressed to Sen. Donna Mercado Kim, KHON-2’s Jill Kuramoto spoke with Executive Director Randy Perreira about his condemnation of Kim for her attacks on principals, vice principals and educational officers.
“She crossed the line with my organization when she decided to attack public employees directly. So we are fighting back,” said Perreira in an interview with KHON-2.
Kim lashed out in an unprecedented floor speech on Tuesday, calling more than 100 educational officers disrespectful after they appeared at her Senate Education Committee hearing. She alleged the EOs, members of HGEA’s Unit 6, booed and jeered other testifiers. The allegation is false: Our members expressed their disapproval of senator’s rude and condescending treatment of Deputy Superintendent Heidi Armstrong.
“I think the principals demonstrated that we all have a civic responsibility to participate in our government and showing up to testify, even though you’re not agreeing with the idea that the lawmakers are attempting to put forward. That’s part of your right,” Perreira told KHON-2. “It was just uncalled for going further and suggesting that these individuals, school administrators, lack decorum, if you will. There was some noise, for sure, but no more than any other large group that has gathered at the Capitol.”
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Tell Lawmakers ‘Hands Off DOE’
The Senate Education Committee plans to hear a bad bill introduced by Sen. Donna Kim that would rid the Department of Education of Complex-Area Superintendents.
HGEA strongly opposes this proposal. Repealing the CAS structure and altering principal selection and evaluation authority would not strengthen the public school system — it would reverse decades of progress, destabilize supports for principals, and create new uncertainty for schools and communities.
DOE employees, it is time to show up and speak up.
Friday, Feb. 13, 1:05 p.m.
State Capitol, Room 229 (and virtual)
415 South Beretania Street
Use your Institute Day tomorrow for urgent civic action! Oppose Senate Bill 3334!
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RELEASE: HGEA Endorses Bernard Carvalho for Kauai County Mayor
Carvalho has a proven track record to lead during uncertain times.
As the extremists in control of the federal government put unprecedented strain on local governments by cutting funding for vital public services, Kauai County needs proven leadership that working class families can rely on.
That’s why the Hawaii Government Employees Association is endorsing Bernard Carvalho for Kauai County Mayor. As mayor for 10 years on the Garden Isle, Carvalho put the needs of working people first — prioritizing community development, diversifying Kauai’s economy and quality of life over outside special interests.
Hawaii stands to lose a massive $3.5 billion in funding from the federal government, all so billionaires and greedy corporations can get more tax cuts they don’t need. These reckless decisions mean counties will face tough choices that will impact our most vulnerable residents, like our kids and kupuna.
“With the challenges we are facing, we need someone as mayor with the experience to bring the community together to tackle these trials on day one. Bernard Carvalho is the person to move us forward,” said HGEA Executive Director Randy Perreira.
Our island faces significant challenges, from the lack of affordable housing to the rising cost of living. The county is struggling to maintain police and fire services in the face of severe fiscal constraints. And ever-increasing vacancy rates across county government are putting a strain on the existing workforce providing vital services.
During Carvalho’s tenure as mayor, Kauai County began transitioning to clean energy faster than anywhere else in the country. Investments in public transit and affordable housing improved Kauai’s quality of life. And his skill at building relationships and working together despite differences allowed the county to tackle problems quickly.
Bottom line: Carvalho is ready to lead. Let’s put him back in office as the steady hand Kauai County needs during this turbulent time.
-pau-
Media Contacts:
Malulani Moreno
Communications Manager
(808) 543-0024
mmoreno@hgea.orgKristina Lum
Senior Communications Specialist
(808) 543-0063
klum@hgea.org -
✅🤙HGEA Endorses Bernard Carvalho for Kauai County Mayor
2026 ELECTION ENDORSEMENT
Bernard Carvalho
For Kauai County Mayor
At a time when Kauai County is in desperate need of leadership that works side-by-side with labor unions to solve our island’s challenges, HGEA is throwing its support behind Bernard Carvalho for mayor.
As a 17-year public servant and HGEA member, Carvalho understands the struggles we face as government employees — ever-increasing vacancy rates that put a strain on the existing workforce, lack of partnership with unions, and dwindling federal resources that threaten the vital services we provide.
Carvalho, in his decade as mayor and a county councilman, has built a proven track record of tackling these problems. During his previous administrations, Carvalho showed a willingness to resolve grievances in a prompt and fair manner and kept an open-door policy for negotiations with him and members of his cabinet. This is the attitude needed from the employer again in Kauai County.
Our island faces significant challenges, from the lack of affordable housing to the rising cost of living. Carvalho’s skill at building relationships and working together despite differences can help set a new course for Kauai County.
Wayfinder Waikiki
Central to the all the action, get a discount off your next staycation at the Wayfinder.
UH Family Fun Day: Men’s Basketball
UH vs. UCSB at the BankOh Arena, Stan Sheriff Center. Saturday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m.
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For a complete list of member discounts or for more HGEA news, visit www.hgea.org.
If you have specific inquiries, contact your local HGEA office or the HGEA Member Service Center at
(808) 543-0000 or service@hgea.org.
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School employees fear for their safety. The state’s message? You’re on your own.
In the days and weeks since the brutal assault on a Moanalua High School assistant athletic director, the union has been a vocal proponent of stricter protections for public servants.
This week, Executive Director Randy Perreira told Honolulu Civil Beat that school employees need more support from the state when threats, harassment and assaults occur. Our Moanalua Unit 6 member, for instance, had to hire her own attorney to guide her through the restraining order process, rather than the state taking on the burden given the incident occurred while the employee was working.
The incident marked an escalation in safety concerns for employees. Just a few years ago, a DOE communications director and nearly a dozen other employees received harassment and threats from one particular parent. Teachers are frequently the target of threats, too.
For our part, we issued a scathing letter in the aftermath of the Moanalua incident calling for action from the state, particularly the Hawaii Attorney General’s office.
“We are already aware that Ms. Iwamoto had to seek a restraining order from the courts on her own without State assistance; sadly, this is par for the course for our Department of the Attorney General and the DOE,” Perreira wrote.
The AG’s office told Civil Beat that state law doesn’t authorize them to represent state employees filing restraining orders.
In short, the message from the state to petrified employees: You’re on your own.
Perhaps it is time for this to change as the state Legislature prepares for a new session. HGEA is ready to support any bill that creates support for employees facing harassment, threats and assault. Such measures have failed to garner support from lawmakers in the past.
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RELEASE: HGEA Demands Action By DOE After Brutal Assault On Moanalua High School Employee
The assault on the associate athletic director of Moanalua High School, a Unit 6 member of our union, should be a call to action for the state Department of Education, the Hawaii Attorney General and state lawmakers. This kind of violence against public servants cannot become normalized.
“We appreciate that you immediately reacted to the situation,” Perreira said. “Words are easy; however, currently we are demanding to know what steps the department intends to take to prevent such instances from occurring again in the future.”
Our organization along with the Hawaii State Teachers Association has been sounding the alarm for years about escalating threats against school employees. This incident should prompt DOE to be much more proactive in pushing for harsher criminal penalties for assaulting school employees.
“HGEA and HSTA have sought passage of such legislation, with the response from the DOE being tepid at best,” Perreira said. “We hope this act of violence will compel the DOE to push hard for greater criminal penalties.”
HGEA intends to hold DOE’s feet to the fire. It is time they find their spines and stand up to protect its dedicated employees.
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Media Contacts:
Malulani Moreno
Communications Manager
(808) 543-0024
mmoreno@hgea.org -
HGEA Proudly Endorses Mayor Richard Bissen’s Re-election as Maui County Mayor
Citing an exemplary level of positive collaboration between Mayor Richard Bissen’s administration and the union, HGEA’s Board of Directors is throwing its support behind Bissen’s re-election.
“Mayor Bissen has shown a refreshing level of collaboration with our union that makes him stand out from other public-sector employers,” said HGEA Executive Director Randy Perreira. “His administration resolves grievances fairly, keeps an open door, and has worked with us to secure much-needed gains in pay and benefits for the working families we represent. His commitment to working people is why HGEA is proud to endorse him for a second term.”
This attitude from an employer has allowed us to achieve agreements on free 75/25 medical coverage options for county employees, ease the way to distribute and resolve issues with temporary hazard pay, and reprice hard-to-fill job classes, such as engineers.
After the worst natural disaster to hit our community in a generation, Bissen faced impossible circumstances head-on, helping Maui rise from the ashes of the wildfires. The strides he’s made during the recovery efforts along with a genuine commitment to partner with unions so working families can thrive on Maui give us faith that he will carry this momentum over to his second term.
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Unit 6’s Sheldon Oshio Leads First “Model Academy with Distinction” Elementary School in the Nation
Unit 6’s Sheldon Oshio made headlines after Waikele Elementary School, where he serves as principal, became the first elementary school in the country to earn the “Model Academy with Distinction” designation from the National Career Academy Coalition.
Waikele’s program is part of a larger career academy emphasis in the Waipahu Complex of schools. Traditionally career academies were limited to high schools, making Waikele’s program all the more innovative.
Oshio told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that the NCAC recognition “is a strong validation of the national standards of practice” and “a great validation of our collective work.”
