Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1530930
Kilburn says the PERB victory is validating and means that she and other ACE leaders can exhale and continue collecting signatures on union petitions, so that every educator in Clovis has the security of a union contract. In 2021, ACE made history when Clovis Unified's school psychologists and mental health support professionals voted to unionize. is year, the district's American Sign Language interpreters and naturalist educators voted to join ACE as well. Kristin Heimerdinger, ACE vice president, says the PERB win is so encouraging because the district is finally being held accountable for its actions — checks and balances for an admin- istration that has acted with impunity for so long. "It just felt so empowering because, yes, the district can be held accountable, be expected to follow the law and do the right thing," she says. "It is our goal to have a collaborative working relationship with our admin and school board. e work is much better and easier if we can do it together. But it's been hard get- ting them to understand Clovis was breaking the law, and we have to work on a better way to move forward collaboratively." Initially, a PERB administrative law judge ruled that CUSD must acknowledge that their union busting was unlawful in a written notice posting (as is typically done). But ACE appealed to the full PERB Board and asked for the statement to be read by the superintendent on video instead, which was upheld (Clovis Unified is appealing this part of the decision). PERB ordered the superintendent to record an uninterrupted verbatim reading of the order. Kilburn says that this will ensure that every Clovis educator sees and hears the same message, along with other requirements including an ACE representative must be given the opportunity to be in the room when the video is shown "This is vital to allow Clovis educators to make their own decisions on how they want to move forward," Kilburn says. "Because Clovis Unified was breaking the law for 40 years," Heimerdinger adds. ACE organizers are hard at work visiting school sites and talking to educators to try to turn victory at PERB into signa- tures on union petitions. Kilburn says it starts by normalizing conversations with fellow educators about working, teaching and learning conditions on campus, developing a collective consciousness that there is opportunity to create change, and breaking down a culture of fear and silence to build the schools their students deserve. "I want educators to realize it is normal for them to have a say in teaching and learning conditions," Heimerdinger says. "I want to continue to change the culture at this district and I want educators to realize that while their work is noble, that doesn't mean they should be exploited for it." ACE members' organizing work was validated by a June 2024 PERB ruling that mandated an end to the district's union-busting. Work continues to organize classroom educators into ACE. Locals Shout Out CTA Legal Team Leaders from all four locals expressed gratitude for the support and expertise of CTA's Legal Department, sharing that they always knew they had a powerful team on their side during their respective fights. "CTA Legal has been fabulous in providing us with advice and support to develop our case," T VEA's Díaz says. " The ability and knowledge they have to work for the rights of educators and the benefit of students is fantastic." "Our CTA staff attorney is absolutely incredible! The dedication of CTA in using legal staff time to do our work when we have nothing to offer back initially is such an incredible blessing," ACE's Heimerdinger adds. "None of this work is possible without the backing of CTA and such a ninja attorney who was willing to wage the war for us." 27 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 5