Isolating Gov. Linda Lingle, county mayors and the leaders of several independently governed state agencies have agreed on a framework for new contracts with public-sector labor unions aimed at addressing the state's budget shortfall.

On Monday, Lingle's chief labor negotiator walked out of labor talks at Honolulu Hale, and the governor has said she will not resume negotiations with union leaders until they present a formal proposal to reduce labor costs.

Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann said he believes the public is tired and running out of patience with the stalemate. "We are in this together," he said. "And that's why we felt that this was a very timely announcement to make today because there has been progress."

Union leaders have asked the Lingle administration to meet on Monday.

Hannemann, who announced the agreement at a news conference yesterday with Maui Mayor Charmaine Tavares at Honolulu Hale, said the mayors stepped forward in part because of a breakdown in communication between the state and the unions. He and Tavares were speaking on behalf of the mayors, the state Department of Education, the University of Hawai'i, the Judiciary and the Hawai'i Health Systems Corp.

Hannemann and Tavares said they expect the unions to "talk on the record" on Monday and described it as a "starting point." They urged the governor to attend.

Lenny Klompus, Lingle's senior communications adviser, said last night that Lingle is prepared to meet with union leaders at any time if they are ready to present a formal proposal.

FLEXIBLE APPROACH

Details of the pact between the mayors and the unions were not made public yesterday, but labor talks have involved a combination of furloughs, pay cuts and adjustments to health care benefits. One suggestion under discussion has been one furlough day a month or a 5 percent pay cut.

Lingle had ordered three furlough days a month for two years for state workers, equivalent to about a 14 percent pay cut. But a Circuit Court judge ruled last week that furloughs should be subject to collective bargaining.

The Lingle administration was already scheduled to meet with the Hawai'i Government Employees Association and the United Public Workers on Monday to discuss furlough plans in response to the court's ruling.

The mayors and leaders of state agencies met with Lingle on Wednesday night at the state Capitol, where they briefed the governor on their informal discussions with the unions.

Hannemann said yesterday that the mayors and state agencies determined that they had reached agreement on a framework for new contracts. He said the union proposal recognizes that the state, state agencies and the counties are unique and that the approach to labor savings should be flexible.

Counties, for example, have completed budgets for this fiscal year that contain spending cuts and fee increases but do not include furloughs or layoffs of county workers. Next year, if property taxes slide as expected, counties may have to turn to furloughs and other steps to close budget gaps.

'NOT POLLYANNAS'

While the state usually takes the lead in collective bargaining negotiations, the mayors and leaders of the DOE, UH, the Judiciary and the HHSC have voices in the process. Under state labor law, the governor must get the votes of a mayor, educator, chief justice or hospital administrator to make contract offers to bargaining units of the four unions.

This year is the first time the state and mayors have made separate proposals to unions under the same umbrella.

Lingle has said that the mayors and educators have taken a narrow view during the labor negotiations. The governor suggested they did not appreciate the severity of what she estimates is a $786 million state budget shortfall through June 2011 and the impact of the recession on counties next year.

Tavares said mayors are aware. "We know what's coming," she said. "We're not Pollyannas over here figuring everything is going to be great, the sun is going to shine tomorrow, and we can sing in the mountains.

"We have the same kind of challenges, it's just the timing of it is different. And having the unions recognize that was a huge step to all of us, that they were then ready to look at what's different about each of these entities, because we aren't the same."