CLOVIS PSYCHOLOGIST AND
MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT PROVIDER
UNION ELECTION
Updates
Congratulations Clovis Psychologists and MHSPs!
The votes have been counted and we are excited to announce we voted overwhelmingly for ACE/CTA/NEA!
By the Numbers
What This Means
This means 69% of ballots cast were for our new union, ACE/CTA/NEA! Only 7% of our colleagues voted for no representation. Please take five minutes to complete a survey to make sure we are not missing anything from our ACE Psychologist/MHSP bargaining platform and to nominate two additional bargaining team members.
Press About Our Big Victory
Congratulations Clovis Psychologists and MHSPs!
The votes have been counted and we are excited to announce we voted overwhelmingly for ACE/CTA/NEA!
By the Numbers
- 81 eligible voters
- 71 voted
- 49 voted for ACE/CTA/NEA
- 16 voted for CTC
- 6 voted for no union
What This Means
This means 69% of ballots cast were for our new union, ACE/CTA/NEA! Only 7% of our colleagues voted for no representation. Please take five minutes to complete a survey to make sure we are not missing anything from our ACE Psychologist/MHSP bargaining platform and to nominate two additional bargaining team members.
Press About Our Big Victory
- Fresno Bee: Clovis Unified school employees form district’s first ever union for certified educators
“In the last large school district in the state where educators are not part of a union, school psychologists and mental health support providers (MHSPs) have just made history by voting to join the Association of Clovis Educators,” ACE union officials said in a news release. The group is backed by the California Teachers Association and National Education Association.
Read more on fresnobee.com - GV Wire: Clovis School psychologists now represented by ACE union
The Association of Clovis Educators announced Friday morning that the California Public Employment Relations Board has recognized ACE as the union winning an election to represent the district’s school psychologists and mental health service providers.
Read more on gvwire.com - EdSource: Clovis Unified Psychologists Unionize. Are teachers next?
“Today, we can say what we’ve long known: that Clovis can still be Clovis while also being a union district,” said Kristin Heimerdinger, a Buchanan High School teacher and ACE spokesperson. “We are thrilled with today’s vote. This is a victory for ACE, for our school psychologists and mental health support professionals, and for students. It is also a building block for our ongoing organizing efforts of more than 2,100 educators, which will continue.”
Read more on edsource.org
Past Important News and Updates
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Newsletters
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ACEPod's Psychologist/MHSP Pods on Apple Podcasts
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Documents
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Calendar
Our Clovis Psychologist and MHSP Election Calendar
As soon as you receive your ballot, please:
For more information about our election, see the PERB Election Notice (PDF).
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Our Clovis Psychologist and MHSP Election Calendar
- January 7, 2022
The Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) will mail ballots to all eligible Clovis Psychologists and Mental Health Support Providers. Depending on USPS, ballots should arrive at our homes within a few days. - January 19, 2022
This is the only date that eligible employees can request a duplicate ballot if they did not receive one by mail by January 14, 2022. A duplicate ballot can be requested by the voter between 8:30am and 4pm by calling the Voter PERB hotline at (916) 322-3198. - February 3, 2022
All ballots must be received by PERB at their Sacramento office by 5pm. - February 4, 2022
Ballots will be counted at the PERB office in Sacramento starting at 10am.
As soon as you receive your ballot, please:
- Mark an X in the box next to Association of Clovis Educators/CTA/NEA
- Place your ballot in the secret ballot envelope and seal the envelope
- Place the secret ballot envelope in the postage-paid envelope
- PRINT and SIGN your name on the back of the postage-paid envelope
- Mail in your vote!
For more information about our election, see the PERB Election Notice (PDF).
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Team
Our ACE Psychologist and MHSP Union Bargaining Team
During the Fall Semester, Clovis Psychologists and MHSPs nominated a bargaining team and completed a comprehensive bargaining survey.
View Survey Results (PDF)
Current bargaining committee members who accepted their nominations include:
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Our ACE Psychologist and MHSP Union Bargaining Team
During the Fall Semester, Clovis Psychologists and MHSPs nominated a bargaining team and completed a comprehensive bargaining survey.
View Survey Results (PDF)
Current bargaining committee members who accepted their nominations include:
- Christina Perez Luna
- Cy Hiyane
- Jade Edwards
- Melissa Saunders
- Rachel Allen
- Suja George
- Trish Orr
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Next Steps
How To Win A Strong Union Contract
How To Win A Strong Union Contract
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What We've Won
Improvements Psychologists Affiliated with CTA Won through Their Unions
Thousands of School Psychologists and Mental Health Support Providers across California are part of local unions that are affiliated with the California Teachers Association. They have won big improvements in their working conditions and their student learning conditions including:
What we prioritize in Clovis will be up to us. We will make the decisions about what we want to negotiate for in our contract. However we will benefit from other union psychologists who have led the way and are eager to provide us with support.
Improvements Psychologists Affiliated with CTA Won through Their Unions
Thousands of School Psychologists and Mental Health Support Providers across California are part of local unions that are affiliated with the California Teachers Association. They have won big improvements in their working conditions and their student learning conditions including:
- Workload Reductions
Caseloads and assessment caps that allow for more time and attention to be given to students - Voice in Decisions
A stronger voice in decisions to ensure the people doing the work are helping develop the most useful programs to support kids - Functional Labor/Management Committees
Strong committees comprised of psychologists and administrators with clear processes for making decisions and ways to ensure follow through once decisions are reached - Salaries Commensurate with Education and Experience
Pay that helps recruit and retain the best providers - Quality Health Insurance
Ensuring employer paid quality health insurance for employees plus their families - Job Sharing and Support for Part Time Employees
Specific contract language that supports part time position, job shares, and accommodations for employees who are parents
What we prioritize in Clovis will be up to us. We will make the decisions about what we want to negotiate for in our contract. However we will benefit from other union psychologists who have led the way and are eager to provide us with support.
What's Important
Being in a Union Alongside Clovis Teachers is Important for Making Improvements
As psychologists and MHSPs, we work alongside other Clovis educators everyday. We all support the same students. We do not work in a silo. Just as we work in collaboration with other educational professionals to serve our students, we believe it is important we are in a union where we collaborate with our colleagues from different professions, are able to support one another, and are part of the same union team.
With ACE, psychologists and MHSPs will be part of a union with other educational professionals in Clovis and benefit from the coordination and mutual support being in such a union provides. However, as psychologists and MHSPs we will negotiate our own union contract that addresses issues specific to our profession. In this way, we benefit from the power that comes from collaboration that is so important in the education setting, while also being able to focus on psychologist specific issues.
View Printable Poster from Clovis Teacher Members of the ACE Organizing Committee (PDF)
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Being in a Union Alongside Clovis Teachers is Important for Making Improvements
As psychologists and MHSPs, we work alongside other Clovis educators everyday. We all support the same students. We do not work in a silo. Just as we work in collaboration with other educational professionals to serve our students, we believe it is important we are in a union where we collaborate with our colleagues from different professions, are able to support one another, and are part of the same union team.
With ACE, psychologists and MHSPs will be part of a union with other educational professionals in Clovis and benefit from the coordination and mutual support being in such a union provides. However, as psychologists and MHSPs we will negotiate our own union contract that addresses issues specific to our profession. In this way, we benefit from the power that comes from collaboration that is so important in the education setting, while also being able to focus on psychologist specific issues.
View Printable Poster from Clovis Teacher Members of the ACE Organizing Committee (PDF)
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FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions About Unionization
Frequently Asked Questions About Unionization
- Who decides what will be in our ACE union contract?
Clovis Psychologists and Mental Health Support Providers determine our priorities for our union contract through surveys, meetings, and conversations.
Our ACE Psych/MHSP bargaining team will take this input and create bargaining proposals that will be used during contract negotiations with CUSD Administration. We will have the support of other ACE educators as well as professional negotiators from CTA to assist us in this process.
Once we have reached a Tentative Agreement (TA) with CUSD Administration on our first union contract, all ACE Psychologists and MHSPs will be able to review and evaluate the TA and then vote to approve or reject the contract. If it is approved, then it will become our union contract. If we vote to reject it, our bargaining team will have to return to negotiations.
This process ensures that our colleagues have a strong voice at every step along the way. - Can we continue to use our QIT process after we have a union contract?
Yes. We can continue to use the QIT process once we are union. In fact, educators often establish committees like our Quality Improvement Team in their union contracts. Importantly, putting QIT in our contract will help us ensure that we protect the positive changes to the QIT process that we incorporated at the end of last school year, including having representatives elected by their peers and ensuring a real voice in departmental decisions. Otherwise a change in administration could mean a return to appointed team members and unsatisfactory progress. - Will joining the union cause part-time employees to lose their part-time status?
No. Nothing about joining the union or bargaining a contract will cause employees to lose their part-time status unless we agree to it in the bargaining process – and no members of the ACE bargaining committee would want this. In fact, it can even be negotiated to create more protection and fairness around part-time work. If a supervisor or manager is telling anyone that this might happen, they are being dishonest and may even be breaking the law. Please correct them and report this to a bargaining team member or staff organizer. The district cannot unilaterally make changes and cannot make things worse just because you joined a union. - Do we have to start from “scratch” in union contract negotiations?
Our starting point for contract negotiations will be our current working conditions. That means our goal will be to lock in what works and make improvements where they are needed. We are all committed to protecting those aspects of our current conditions that our colleagues value, such as QIT and MiCare.
- How does our affiliation with CTA help us?
CTA is the largest association of professional educators in California and includes thousands of union psychologists and hundreds of thousands of union educators. We will benefit from support from other union educators who have gone through the unionization and contract negotiations process before. We will also have support from people with legal, organizing, negotiating, and financial analysis expertise. Additionally, many in our statewide union have expertise around Special Education policy and provide training and conferences that are useful for our professional development. Finally, so much of what happens in our schools is impacted by California Education Code and decisions about school funding and policy at the state level. Being part of a larger organization of educational professionals helps us have power to make improvements in those important policy arenas. In summary, being part of a larger community of educators and having access to these resources will put us in a strong position to win improvements while protecting what we love about our schools.
It is important to note, our goals in Clovis will be determined by our psychologist and MHSP colleagues while as members of this statewide organization we will have input into the goals of CTA. - Will we have help during contract negotiations?
Yes. Our ACE Psychologist and MHSP bargaining team will have the support of experienced negotiators and organizers from CTA to assist us as needed with the legal, technical, strategic and financial components of contract negotiations. This support is important and available on an as needed basis. We will also have the support of other ACE educators from Clovis and other union psychologists from districts who are also part of CTA. All decisions about our contract priorities will be determined by ACE psychologists and MHSPs. - Does CUSD have to negotiate with us once we are union?
Yes. Once we are union, CUSD administration is legally obligated to negotiate in good faith with us. Additionally, the district must open all their books and provide all information that we need about budgets, salaries, vendor contracts, reserves, and other information relevant to our negotiations. - Do conservative Educators support education Unions?
Absolutely. Many successful and dedicated union leaders identify as conservative. Educators from across the political spectrum believe resources should be focused on our classrooms, believe educators should be part of the decision-making process, believe in transparency and democracy. Education unions are not partisan organizations.
In fact, many leaders of education unions in the Central Valley identify as conservative. Likewise, many members of our ACE organizing committee are similarly inclined. - When do we start paying dues?
Educators who are first establishing a union—like we are in Clovis--do not start paying dues until we have become union members and voted to approve our first union contract. Union dues are typically between $80 to $100 a month. Education union members pay dues to support their local, statewide, and national education unions. In fact, dues from existing local unions also help support non-union public-school educators--like us-- when they decide to unionize. - Will my dues go to candidates I disagree with?
No. Union members can opt-out of having any of their dues going to political candidates. Learn more. - What can I do to help?
Vote for ACE/CTA and get in touch with a bargaining team member and ask how you can help prepare for contract negotiations!