EVENTS COMING SOON | PERKS & DISCOUNTS | GIVE A MEMBER A SHAKA | Feb. 20, 2025

Welcome back to The Negotiation Table!

March will be Social Work Month. Social workers across the state provide critical support in our community to children and adults in at-risk situations. But like many departments in state government, the state Department of Human Services in general and the Child Welfare Services Branch in particular are severely short-handed. It was recently estimated that as many as 40% of CWS caseworker positions are vacant.

Learn more with Unit 13 member Kalani Motta, who is a supervisor in Child Adult Protective Services in the state Department of Human Services.

Vice Principals and Unit 6 members Marlyn Hutton and Penny Vess were recognized by the National Association of Secondary School Principals for their exceptional service.

Marlyn, 2025 Middle Level Assistant Principal of the Year awardee, has served as vice principal for 15 years and currently works at Niu Valley Middle School. Throughout her tenure on the school’s leadership team, she has helped raise teacher satisfaction from 32% to nearly 83%.

Penny, 2025 High School Assistant Principal of the Year awardee, has served as vice principal for 23 years with the past eight at Waimea High School. Her work has transformed the school’s freshman academy which achieved national model academy status in 2019.

Congratulations, Marlyn and Penny!

As we navigate through challenges to government and public employees, strong leadership is more important than ever. This is your opportunity to step up and shape the future of our union.

Election for the 2025-2027 term of office for the HGEA president and board of directors will be held this spring. In addition to electing the president, active members will elect directors for Units 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15, Hawaii-at-large, Kauai-at-large, Maui-at-large, and Oahu-at-large.

The president and directors will serve from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2027. Positions are voluntary and unpaid.

Active members interested in running can pick up a candidate packet from HGEA offices or at hgea.org/candidate. Completed packets must be submitted by 4:30 p.m. on March 7.

Retiring soon? Join our retirees unit to stay in the fight.

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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.