“There is a huge disconnect between people making the decisions at CUSD and the people on the ground. It’s a big reason why I’m here [building ACE].”
—Nancy Welch, special educator with the adult transition program

“Smaller class sizes, academic supports, social-emotional learning — this is what we’re fighting for. Things we can improve to continue serving mind, body and spirit,” says Silvia Berst, a teacher at Boris Elementary School in Clovis and member of the Association of Clovis Educators (ACE).

Tamara Soemali, Kristin Heimerdinger and Amy Kilburn celebrate the voting results that gave ACE official recognition.

Last spring, teachers, school psychologists, itinerant specialists, school counselors and other education professionals formed ACE, seeking a real voice in decision-making, more transparency, better communication, and equitable opportunities for all 43,000 Clovis Unified School District (CUSD) students. It’s a mission that unites the educators working hard to organize and build ACE, centered around providing the education all Clovis students deserve.

On Feb. 4, ACE was officially recognized by the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) as the exclusive representative of CUSD’s 81 school psychologists and mental health support providers (MHSP) after they chose the union in an election.

“We have a great district. We want to make it better,” says Tamara Soemali, a CUSD school psychologist and ACE member. “We want to make sure all our students have access to all the wonderful things in our district.”

Tamara Soemali

The organizing effort is a heavy lift in normal conditions, even heavier amid the second year of a pandemic that has challenged educators like never before. But many hands make light work, with a core group of educators creating seven democratic committees to delegate the tasks needed to grow the union and build a movement.

“In our community in Clovis, education is so highly valued. It affects our whole city,” says Nancy Welch, eight-year special educator with the adult transition program and former CUSD student. “There is a huge disconnect between people making the decisions at CUSD and the people on the ground. That was difficult to see, and it’s a big reason why I’m here [building ACE].”

The Clovis way

Located just northeast of Fresno, Clovis is a city of about 120,000, and the school district is by far its biggest employer. CUSD is well-known statewide and beyond for its quality schools, strong athletic program, and one notable fact: In Clovis Unified’s 63-year history, teachers have never had a recognized union.

Dan Dritz

“When you sign a contract, they say, ‘You know Clovis is not a union district,’ ” says Dan Dritz, 27-year teacher at Mountain View Elementary and ACE member.

The lack of a teachers union in Clovis was celebrated by the district in a document called “Doc’s Charge,” written by CUSD founding Superintendent Floyd “Doc” Buchanan upon his retirement in 1991, which includes numerous themes and slogans that embody the district’s culture and are embraced by school district leadership. One sticks out: “The professionals who work in our district are proud that we do not have collective bargaining.”

“Clovis is adept at misattributing their success to not having a union,” says Kristin Heimerdinger, 29-year Buchanan High School educator and ACE member. “Maybe it’s not the lack of a union; maybe it’s the hard work of educators who deserve a louder voice.”

Despite Doc’s wishes, there has been a union in CUSD for quite some time — education support professionals in the district are represented by the California School Employees Association. Teachers, however, utilize a “faculty senate,” which provides a forum for teachers to discuss and make nonbinding recommendations to district administration. School psychologists, counselors and other credentialed staff do not have representation in the senate. Clovis educators say it has very little power, especially compared to the strength of a union contract. Berst served as a member of the faculty senate for many years before the COVID-19 pandemic showed her how little the group could do to protect the safety of students and educators.

Silvia Berst

“I saw how much was put on educators, and I realized my role as a faculty senator was very limited,” Berst says. “I was motivated to learn more about ACE.”

While educators were growing tired of ever-increasing responsibilities and an administration that didn’t seem to care about them, a July 2020 CUSD school board meeting was the tipping point. When the board approved returning to full-time in-person instruction, against public health regulations and without consulting educators, it moved them to organize.

“The district showed no sympathy or empathy for us,” Berst says. “There was no recourse for educators.”

Clovis East High School teacher and ACE member Jason Roche says the decision was the last straw. He reached out to Heimerdinger, and she replied, “I’ve had enough.”

“The pandemic has just amplified the deep rot that was in the system to begin with, and we need something to fix it,” says Roche. “ACE is the answer.”

When Clovis school psychologists were required to return to in-person assessments of students, Soemali says, there was no plan from management about how to do so safely and no effective personal protective equipment. School psychologists asked for guidance, and the Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) director told them: “You’re smart people, you’ll figure it out.”

“The district said, ‘You will return to work and assess these students,’ even though the assessments weren’t normal,” Soemali says. “That really moved the psychologists.”

Heimerdinger says the pandemic spotlighted the decision-making process in CUSD and how educators were not involved. She says it’s a problem that has been festering for some time in Clovis Unified.

“It’s never been about decisions, but about a lack of voice,” she says. “I don’t want to work in a district that does not value my voice.”

After serving in the faculty senate for numerous years, Clovis East High School teacher Amy Kilburn says educators need a union to balance the unchecked power held by district leadership and move forward together for all Clovis students.

“There needs to be checks and balances in our district. That would create a structure where there would be collaboration,” says Kilburn. “This is the opportunity to see where we can fix things and where we can grow — so let’s go and let’s grow!”

“Educators need a meaningful seat at the table. A union is the best way to ensure a strong future for our students and schools for years to come.”
—Kristin Heimerdinger, Buchanan High School teacher

“We Are ACE”

After the fateful July 2020 school board meeting, a group of Clovis educators began meeting regularly to discuss the growing challenges in CUSD and share their experiences. The group quickly grew to include new and seasoned educators across Clovis from all grade levels. They discovered that they shared common values and goals, and cared deeply about their students, the district and the Clovis community.

“This movement has built a family among educators,” Heimerdinger says.

The team contacted CTA for support in the union-building effort and continued to reach out to colleagues in the organizing effort. Only nine months later, the educators went public, announcing the establishment of the Association of Clovis Educators in an April 2021 letter to the community. “We are proud to be Clovis educators, and we have created ACE because we want to see our schools, students, teachers, staff and administrators thrive,” reads the letter, signed by 75 Clovis educators and ACE members.

“Clovis educators and schools are known for their excellence, and we believe that to stay true to our district’s core values, forming a union is our next important step,” Heimerdinger said in April. “Educators need a meaningful seat at the table, and we believe a union is the best way to ensure a strong future for our students and schools for years to come.”

The effort to collect the signatures of more than half of Clovis Unified’s 2,100 educators on petitions to form a union is a tall order under normal conditions — even more so during a pandemic and in a district so openly hostile to unions. (See sidebar “A Union Is Born” below.) Educators say they’re battling 60-plus years of anti-union rhetoric and challenging a system that is historically closed and isolated, fueling fears of retaliation.

Soemali’s mother and aunt were part of an unsuccessful unionizing effort by Clovis educators in the 1980s. She says every educator who was a part of the attempt was retaliated against by district management.

“It’s not just something people are afraid of; it’s something that actually happened,” says Soemali.

The movement to build ACE is changing what has been a long-standing culture of fear. Welch says building relationships across the district and working together toward what students need helps dispel that fear.

Jason Roche

“We’re beginning to build a new culture where educators feel they have agency in the system,” says Roche.

Maple Creek Elementary School teacher and ACE member Elizabeth Henderson can feel it. Exhausted from being asked to do more and more for her students and tired of having nowhere to go, she says ACE is making a huge difference in her life.

“I’m having conversations with people I’ve never had before. I feel like I’m finally part of a group who sees me and that I matter,” Henderson says. “Speaking up is no longer rocking the boat. We realize that we’re not alone anymore. I think Clovis is starting to change.”

Building and growing the union

Only a few months after announcing the formation of ACE, the young union recorded a major victory when CUSD’s school psychologists filed for recognition with the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) in June. Due to the critical needs of their students and ongoing impacts of the pandemic, 76 percent of CUSD’s school psychologists and MHSPs signed union support petitions. In a letter to the Clovis community, they said that educators in CUSD should have a real voice in the decisions that impact students and educators.

“It is our desire to create an inclusive culture that honors our diverse backgrounds and experiences,” the letter reads. “A culture that is based on collaboration and respect, a culture that fosters open dialogue, transparency and advocacy to best serve the academic, social and emotional needs of all our students.”

ACE member Cy Hiyane says the last two years have been eye-opening for his fellow school psychologists to see how decisions are made in Clovis Unified. Hiyane says school psychologists have been active in Clovis over the past decade, advocating for the implementation of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) and appropriate compensation, and are eager to accomplish so much more now with a loud, unified union voice.

School psychologists Cy Hiyane and Tamara Soemali are eager to advocate for all students with a unified union voice.

“It’s about serving our students and continuing to create a diverse workforce,” says Hiyane, a 10-year veteran of CUSD. “Our students will feel our success because they will know they have a voice. We are going to advocate for them and be a voice for them.”

As a former student, Soemali says Clovis Unified supported her as a learner, but as a school psychologist, she says there is a lack of equity in the types of special and general ed services provided to students of color. It’s a common refrain among ACE educators, who say that the educational experience isn’t the same for every Clovis student.

“I think we do a great job, but I think we don’t always do a great job for everyone,” says Heimerdinger.

Teresa D’addato

Teresa D’addato says her students at Tarpey Elementary School, a Title I school, have been treated differently by the district for all 33 of her years there. Long a proponent of unionizing in Clovis, D’addato says a victory for ACE means binding equity, guaranteed for all students.

“My students need more, and the district doesn’t like to acknowledge that,” she says.

Kilburn says the district’s leadership and board don’t reflect the student population, which is 60 percent students of color. ACE members are proud that the district’s rich diversity is reflected in their organizing team.

“We need a redefinition of what Clovis means,” Roche says. “The Clovis of old doesn’t exist anymore.”

“I’m having conversations with people I’ve never had before. I feel like I’m finally part of a group who sees me and that I matter.”
—Elizabeth Henderson, Maple Creek Elementary School teacher

The power of us

Building a movement takes time, and the organizing team is putting in work, with ACE committee meetings scheduled nearly every night to win the voice that Clovis students need. In just a short period, educators have built a functioning, member-led, democratic union — all while CUSD has engaged in an aggressive union-busting campaign.

ACE hit the ground running, filing a series of unfair labor practice charges and requesting an injunction with PERB against CUSD over the district’s improperly cozy relationship with the faculty senate, interfering with ACE’s organizing efforts, and intimidating and retaliating against unionizing educators (including monitoring educators’ emails and suddenly changing a long-standing assignment for an ACE organizer). PERB investigated the claims and found reasonable cause that CUSD had violated the law in multiple ways, taking the extraordinary step of seeking an injunction from Fresno County Superior Court to cease the district’s unlawful conduct until the complaints are resolved.

Amy Kilburn

“Even through all that, we are maintaining our integrity,” says Kilburn. “We’re going to do big things for our community and our kids.”

The positive impacts of the ACE movement are already being felt by educators and students alike. CUSD has acted on numerous items proposed by ACE, including placing instructional aides in special education classes, directly benefiting students. ACE also began its Fall Forward campaign in October, outlining six priority issues in CUSD identified by educators. By November, the district had agreed to move forward on several, including extending educator’s COVID leave and improving substitute coverage.

“We’re fighting to make sure all our students get the resources and support they need,” Heimerdinger says. “This continues to be the focus of all our work.”

Support in the Clovis community is solid and growing, as ACE spreads the word about the union and how it will benefit students and families. Local unions, faith leaders and district parents agree that ACE is the answer.

“I wholeheartedly support the formation of ACE. It is imperative that educators truly have a voice when decisions are being made that will impact the children in their classrooms. The development of a union is the only means to ensure this,” says Clovis parent Sarah Martin. “I am so excited for the Clovis educators who are spearheading this endeavor. Please know there are many of us who are cheering you on from the sidelines!”

Each victory is a boost for the educators building ACE and working hard to make a difference for Clovis kids and families. Where before many of them felt alone, educators now have a supportive family — in ACE, CTA and NEA. It’s an exciting realization for some.

“I haven’t felt this much love for what I’m doing for Clovis in a long time,” says Henderson. “I felt like I wanted to retire, and now I want to fight!”

The organizing continues as the effort approaches the one-year mark. Heimerdinger says that educators are in the fight for the long haul.

“We’re not going away,” she says. “There’s a better way for us to do things for all educators and all students.”

A Union Is Born

Clovis Unified teachers, school psychologists, itinerant specialists, school counselors and other education professionals announced the establishment of ACE in an April 2021 letter to the community.

To form the Association of Clovis Educators, members followed these steps:

• Notify the employer of intent to form an independent employee organization, as ACE did in an April 2021 letter. Per the Educational Employment Relations Act (EERA), ACE has rights and protections as an independent employee organization. ACE filed unfair labor practice charges and requested an injunction against Clovis Unified School District during this time.
• Collect enough signatures from potential bargaining unit members on petitions to form a union to show there is substantial interest. If more than half sign, the organization can file with the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) for recognition. While teachers, counselors and other education professionals are still gathering signatures, school psychologists and mental health support providers (MHSP) filed for PERB recognition in June 2021 with a supermajority signing petitions.
• Upon filing, a 15-day period begins, during which other employee organizations can file for recognition with 30 percent of the proposed unit’s signatures. If no other organization files, the union is officially recognized. If another organization files, PERB holds an election to determine who will represent the workers.

During the 15-day period following the school psychologists and MHSP’s filing, another organization (Clovis Psychologists for Clovis) filed for recognition, spurring a majority-vote election. (Bargaining unit members are allowed to sign more than one petition.) This election was held in January and February, and a majority of members voted for ACE, which was officially recognized as their union.

ACE on Social Media

Clovis educators have been utilizing social media to tell their story, build support and provide updates.

Campaigns have included educators sharing stories about why they’re building ACE and what it will mean for Clovis students, as well as an inside look and detailed breakdown of unfair labor practice charges and PERB rulings. Their podcast The ACEPod includes in-depth discussions with ACE members about the union-organizing effort and how it will benefit the CUSD community.

ACE is also on TikTok, posting news and interviews to share the sights and sounds of their struggle.

“Our mission in social media is twofold: To make the case for unionization in Clovis, but to do it in a way that demonstrates that these arguments are being made by people,” says ACE member Jason Roche. “ACE is your neighbor, your colleague and your child’s teacher. We aren’t outsiders imposing on a culture, but insiders with deep roots and a commitment to the district and the students we serve.”

Follow ACE on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok at @cloviseducators, and visit ACE online at cloviseducators.org.

Support of the CTA Family

As members of the Association of Clovis Educators continue the work of building their new union, CTA is providing resources and guidance. In addition to staff technical assistance and expertise, CTA is providing release time to several members from Central Valley local associations to lend their support (like Nichole Klein from Selma Unified Teachers Association).

Nichole Klein

“We’re proud to be working with CTA,” says ACE member Kristin Heimerdinger. “The help, support and mentorship are invaluable.”

ACE’s unionization effort is attracting attention among CTA’s 310,000 members as well as the 3.1 million educators of NEA.

“This is historic for the Central Valley!” CTA President E. Toby Boyd says. “Join me in supporting these courageous educators as they build a movement in Clovis. We are all ACE!”

Clovis Born and Bred

Tamara Soemali, Kristin Heimerdinger, Amy Kilburn

Many of Clovis Unified’s 2,100-plus educators were students in the district before returning to teach in Clovis. For three ACE organizing committee members, teaching and learning in Clovis is a multigenerational family affair. Read about it at cta.org/clovisfamily.