A source close to the negotiations between the state and Hawaii State Teachers Association told KITV4 News that an agreement to end the strike by more than 12,000 Hawaii public schoolteachers is not expected until Saturday at the earliest.
Money remains the issue that continues to divide both sides.
The union is demanding larger raises than the state is offering plus retroactivity to the expiration of its last contract in 1999. Gov. Ben Cayetano continued to insist that the state does not have the money to pay for the raises that the teachers are demanding. It is the third consecutive night that the state and union negotiated late into the night. Two previous marathon sessions have left negotiators alternating between hope and pessimism. Certainly, both sides are trying hard to get this done.