One of two teachers groups vying to unionize teachers in Clovis Unified School District filed a petition last week to be recognized as their exclusive representative, The Fresno Bee reported.

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.

State Board Eliminated CUSD’s Faculty Senate

Unionizing Clovis Unified teachers the last two years has been within reach more than it has been in decades after the state labor board in 2024 disbanded the Faculty Senate, a district-supported nonunion group that represented teachers.

The Faculty Senate was much like an advisory panel before its ordered disbandment. The group represented teachers by communicating on their behalf, but, unlike a union, it could not bargain or negotiate for employee benefits such as pay.

With the Faculty Senate disbanded, it left teachers with no collective voice speaking on their behalf and pushed them to choose a legally recognized union out of “a matter of necessity,” teachers previously told EdSource. So, to be recognized, ACE or ICUE had to gather signatures of more than 50% of teachers within a year, which must be verified by the state labor board.

Looking Ahead

Here’s what could happen next:

• If ACE has 30% of signatures, it can request an intervention to the existing petition, which would force a vote between the two unions or for no union representation.
• If ACE doesn’t file that petition for intervention, there is automatic union recognition of ICUE and no election.

Representatives for ACE, which had reportedly gathered more than 35% of signatures in 2024, told The Bee the group intends to file an intervention petition.

While trying to garner support among teachers over the years, ACE has formed unions with Clovis Unified mental health professionals and American Sign Language interpreters.

Developed as an alternative to traditional union models, ICUE has promised teachers 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.

If enough teachers sign on to ICUE, the group will be closely watched as the largest independently run teachers union in California.

It’s unclear how many teachers in Clovis Unified support unionization, as well as how many remain undecided. Clovis Unified’s status as a nonunion district has attracted several teacher candidates over the years, district officials have said.