A reported 5,000 educators and their supporters rallied at the Hawaii state Capitol this afternoon to “Stand Up for Public Education” and protest the “last, best and final” contract offer that they say Gov. Neil Abercrombie illegally imposed on teachers in 2011.

“If we do’t get no contract, you don’t get no peace” was among the slogans that the teachers, all decked out in red shirts, chanted while sprawled out on the grass abutting Punchbowl Street. A number of signs bore caricatures of Abercrombie. 

The Hawaii State Teachers Association, which organized the event, says that teachers have been working without a negotiated contract for two years.

Also in attendance was Hawaii Teachers Work to the Rules — the grassroots teachers movement based at Campbell High School. 

Several lawmakers, including Reps. Ty Cullen and James Tokioka, drifted through the sea of red to chat with teachers. Others watched from the Capitol’s roof. 

— Alia Wong