ABSTRACT
Hawaii adopted a unique approach in its public sector collective bargaining law in that it specified the bargaining units in the legislation itself and established all of them on a statewide basis, with state and local government employees in the same bargaining units. Administration is simplified, and bargaining on a statewide basis, with both state and local government employees who do similar work in the same bargaining units, has made “leapfrogging,” “end-runs,” and the use of “whipsaw” tactics by unions difficult. To date, bargaining on a statewide basis has worked remarkably well in Hawaii, with the employers having presented a surprisingly united front during the bargaining process. To further facilitate the collective bargaining process, an Office of Collective Bargaining within the Office of the Governor was established in 1975 to assist the governor in discharging his duties under the Public Employment Relations Act.
