By David Corrigan and Stephanie Salazar

[Video by David Corrigan]

HILO, Hawaii: The members of the Hawaii State Teachers Association have voted “no” to ratification of a proposed new contract.

According to the union, 67% voted no, while only 33 % voted yes.

At this voting location at Hilo Intermediate School, teachers cast their decision by ballot Thursday evening…

We spoke to a few supporters of the proposed contract, but as the final results suggested, we found many more who had voted down the latest offer.

In a message to teachers posted to Facebook, HSTA president Wil Okabe said after the vote, “I talked to hundreds of you this week personally and at some of the polling locations. I could tell from the questions many teachers had that the vote would be against ratification.”

Okabe went on to write “… beginning tomorrow, I will initiate a union-wide conversation about our options going forward, listen to your suggestions, roll up my sleeves, and get back to work. Many of you have suggested that we return to the negotiating table. Others of you believe a strike vote should be our next step. And still others have suggested that we continue with our legal challenges. Each of these points of view should be considered and discussed.”