Posts tagged Clovis Unified School District
Clovis Unified’s ASL interpreters reach first union deal, despite some pay concerns
August 18, 2026 // The contract comes at a time when the Association of Clovis Educators (ACE), which is backed by the California Teachers Association and helped to organize interpreters’ unionization, is vying to be the exclusive representative of Clovis Unified’s teachers. The district is closer than ever to ending its 66-year “union-free” history as the other major group, Independent Clovis Unified Educators (ICUE), gathered enough signatures and filed a union petition with the state in July.
Independent union files for recognition in Clovis Unified over CTA-backed group
August 6, 2026 // For years, the Association of Clovis Educators (ACE), backed by the California Teachers Association, and the unaffiliated Independent Clovis Unified Educators (ICUE) have sought to represent teachers in the district. Clovis Unified is California’s largest school district without a teachers union but could become the state’s largest independent union. The unaffiliated ICUE reportedly collected more than 50% of signatures from more than 2,000 teachers in Clovis Unified, The Bee reported. The group filed a union petition with California’s Public Employment Relations Board, a feat it nearly reached last year, according to The Bee. “Teachers are realizing, ‘It’s ACE or ICUE,’ ” Erin Dieterle Garcia, a founding teacher of ICUE, told EdSource in 2025 when ICUE was less than 75 signatures away from being able to file the union petition.
Clovis Unified teachers face choice between CTA-backed or independent union
September 23, 2025 // Teachers champion ICUE, the independent group that promises cheaper dues and local control, because they don’t have ties to the California Teachers Association (CTA), which represents most teachers unions across the state. But educators also base their support on personal experiences and group reputation. There are still many teachers on the fence, often remaining quiet about their indecision. Perhaps they are hoping for an election. The ACE or ICUE must gather the signatures of more than 50% of approximately 2,100 teachers within a year.
Sign language interpreters in Clovis schools file to become bargaining unit. Why now?
August 28, 2024 // The group currently serves 61 students from elementary to high schools. Houts said the district has a shortage of interpreters and some students are going to classes without the services, which has become a legal issue. “So (we need) a contract that would increase wages and improve working conditions so those staffing ratios are not deficient,” she said. The goal for the group is to provide a better package so that interpreters can stay and serve students in the long term. Kelly Avants, Clovis Unified spokesperson, said not all interpreters work eight hours a day, but there is “a range of up to $78,000 for a full-time person near the top of the salary schedule.” The district also pays $15,055 per person per year for the health benefit plan and contributes nearly 27% of an employee’s retirement plan.
How did Clovis Unified’s Faculty Senate violate labor rules? What’s next for teachers?
June 30, 2024 // At some point – the district said it’s not sure exactly when – Clovis Unified started financially supporting the Faculty Senate, and controlling it in other ways, which made it less of an employee representative body and more an employee relations arm of management, according to state labor officials. This included paying for supplies, a car and cell phone for leadership, stipends and other expenses. The state said that Clovis spent $610,000 on its Faculty Senate from 2020-2022. Meanwhile, none of these resources and access was granted to the Association of Clovis Educators (ACE), a teacher group attempting to unionize since 2020, or other groups attempting to unionize or form other representative groups.
Clovis teachers trying to unionize blame anti-union sentiment for missed deadline
September 22, 2022 // The Association of Clovis Educators, the most recent effort to unionize teachers, said Clovis Unified and its “continued illegal financial support” of the district’s Faculty Senate are barriers to unionizing its teachers. District leaders, however, say the issues are independent and separate from each other. The district won’t discuss the merits of the labor practice claims filed last year with the California Public Employees Relations Board, more commonly known by its acronym, PERB.