Gov. Josh Green, University of Hawaii President David Lassner and the University of Hawaii Board of Regents announced Friday that they have reached a tentative agreement for a UH faculty contract with the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly. The tentative agreement comes more than eight months before the current contract expires.

The UHPA has served as the exclusive bargaining representative for all UH System faculty since Nov. 1, 1974, representing 3,300 faculty members across the 10 UH campuses statewide.

Hawaii’s public employees are divided into 14 distinct bargaining units by statute. Faculty members in Bargaining Unit 7 include lecturers, instructors, professors, librarians, specialists, extension agents, researchers, and faculty from the Schools of Law and Medicine.

As of 2014, Bargaining Unit 7 comprised 3,950 individuals, with 3,070 of them being active UHPA members.

The current contract for the UH faculty expires June 30. The new two-year contract will begin July 1 to coincide with the start of a new state fiscal year.

Faculty will vote electronically on the tentative agreement from Tuesday through Thursday.

Will Kane, senior adviser at the Office of the Governor, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that by “being open about the fiscal realities we will be facing in the next couple of years, we are able to have a productive dialogue and not wait until the last minute to conclude these negotiations. This approach benefits everyone.”

“Governor approaches these negotiations with transparency and respect for what UHPA and the university system does for our state,” Kane said.

The collective bargaining agreement is a multiparty contract involving the governor, UH president, the Board of Regents and UHPA. All must agree to the terms and conditions of the contract.

The new contract mirrors the last two years — 2025-2027 — of the Hawaii State Teachers Association agreement with the state that extends through June 2027. The agreement includes a 3.5% wage increase in the first year and a 3.79% increase in the second year.

“The role of the University of Hawai‘i is absolutely critical to ensuring a thriving and healthy future for our state,” Green said in a statement. “UH is an economic driver for everyone in Hawai‘i. This agreement will allow us to attract and retain the great faculty we need who can develop our future leaders and citizens as they work to address the greatest challenges and opportunities we face.”

Lassner emphasized that the agreement will ensure stability as a new president takes over the UH system, allowing faculty to continue focusing on their important work in instruction, research and service for students and communities across the islands.

“Reaching a tentative agreement more than half a year before the expiration of the current contract is a testament to the power of collaboration,“ Christian Fern, executive director of UHPA, said in a statement. “With the uncertainties ahead, we appreciate Governor Green, President Lassner, and the Board of Regents for offering this package to the faculty early to provide a fair and equitable proposal for our members to vote on so that we can focus our collective efforts on making Hawai‘i a better place to live and work, now and for future generations.”