02/06/24 Newsletter: Investing in Each Other
The Benefits of Membership
How signing up for ACE/CTA membership
is an investment in our future.
Membership with ACE and CTA:
Signing the ACE union support petition does not require us to become ACE/CTA members, but those of us who are driving this effort have chosen to do so. Why?
By becoming a member of ACE and CTA, we gain the power to make positive changes in our profession and work environment. We join the conversation on important local and statewide issues that impact our students and our classrooms. We enjoy the protections of a strong union, including legal protections for our jobs and professional liabilities. We also have a vote in electing union leaders and representatives at the local, state, and national levels so important decisions better reflect our voice.
We have shared information before about the benefits of ACE/CTA membership. Here’s a link to a flyer. Today we want to highlight a few that some may not have noticed:
More Choices!
We can choose to join the CTA-endorsed 403 B plan, Disability Insurance, and Home and Auto Insurance, which have all been tailored to educators’ needs. They are often lower cost and higher quality than what is otherwise available.
Support!
- Training for site reps (on how to support fellow educators)
- Training for executive board members
- Training for bargaining team members
- Training for student discipline issues
- Training for new educators
- Training for veteran teachers
- Training for equity and inclusion
- Training for SPED educators
- Training for ALL members, not just leaders
Resources!
Scholarships
Six Free University Credit units
Legal Services from attorneys who specialize in Labor Law and Education Code.
We invite you to email us at ace@cloviseducators.org to learn more about ACE/CTA membership. You can also sign up online at any time here.
Protection and support in our profession:
- Members will have access to professional support, from well-trained school site representatives to expert legal counsel. They will also have the necessary on-the-job support to defend their employment and their students’ rights.
- Legal services and professional advice provided for:
- Due process, leave rights, layoffs, and California Commission on Teacher Credentialing cases
- Certification and classification issues
- Discrimination under federal/state laws based on race, gender, age, sexual orientation, etc.
- Discrimination based on union activity
- Retirement issues
- No cost attorney representation for job-related legal matters (and one-hour free consultation on any other matter)
- $1 million educator employment liability insurance policy
- Access to a vast network of education professionals throughout the state with knowledge and expertise in our schools’ various fields of interest. This shared institutional knowledge proves invaluable as educators seek solutions to the most pressing issues facing our profession and our students.
As educators, we are committed to providing the best possible education to our students. However, it is important to remember that we also need to take care of ourselves and each other. By becoming an ACE/CTA member, we gain the power to make positive changes in our profession and work environment. With voting privileges on contract ratification, we can ensure that our salaries, benefits, and working conditions are fair and just.
Additionally, we can have a voice in positions advocated by our union, as well as elect local chapter leaders and leaders at the state and national levels. But that’s not all. We understand that you may also be looking for ways to save money and improve your skills. That’s why membership comes with discounts on insurance, travel, financial and other services, and access to professional and leadership development training opportunities sponsored by CTA at the local, regional, state, and national levels.
Members Only Incentives:
- Voting privileges on contract ratification of the collectively bargained agreement between the district and the local association. Salary, benefits, and working conditions as stipulated by the collectively bargained agreement or “contract” between the district and the local association.
- Voting privileges to have a voice on positions advocated by the union, as well as in electing local chapter leaders and leaders at the state and national levels.
- Discounts on insurance, travel, financial and other services.
- CTA-sponsored professional and leadership development training opportunities at the local, regional, state, and national levels.
- Issues Conference
- Region II Leadership
- Conference
- Summer Institute
- Presidents Conference
- Equity & Human Rights Conference
- Access to CTA and NEA professional development trainings by members for members looking to improve professional skills, social awareness, and leadership.
- New Educator Weekend
- Good Teaching
- Conference
- Summer Institute
- Special Education Conference
- State Council
Exclusive Discounted CTA and NEA Member Benefits programs
- Auto and home insurance
- Voluntary life and disability insurance
- Travel, restaurant, theme parks, and purchasing discounts
- CTA 403(b) Retirement Savings Plan and financial tools and resources
- Financial services such as credit cards, credit unions, special mortgages, and auto loan programs
- Resources including “CTA Guide to Federal Student Loan Forgiveness Programs” and “Balancing Family and Work: A Guide to Pregnancy Disability and Baby Bonding Leave” and many more products, services, and discounts negotiated on behalf of and provided to members only.
Invest in your future today, join ACE/CTA, and take advantage of these valuable benefits. Your membership is an investment in your future as an educator and a commitment to providing the best possible education to our students. We’re here for you and committed to supporting you every step of the way.
Be Your Own HERO!
A Call for Unity
By Christopher L. Kipp,
Clovis North High School Science Teacher
and
Organizing Committee Member
Dear fellow educators,
ACE members are not trying to be heroes. Sometimes, people seek comfort in the idea that a strong person will do the heroic thing and make life better for us. Sometimes, people who want to represent us will claim that they’ll fix our problems for us. Some district admin would like us to see them as the heroes who will do right by us.
True heroic power is not held by the individual but rather by the group. Five voices cry louder than three. Ten people make more democratic, inclusive decisions than five. I choose to trust in the knowledge that comes from the whole group of people to make decisions for the good of all rather than the small group of people who make their own common cause.
For the last several years, ACE has been challenging the actions of our district, some of which were recently confirmed to be illegal by a judge. I have spoken with several individuals who were patiently waiting for the decision of that judge, essentially waiting to be told which side to believe in. To me, this way of thinking is just another form of waiting for a hero. You do not need the judge to empower either ACE or any other group. You do not need to wait for ACE or Faculty Senate to make the decisions that will improve your working conditions and our students’ educations. To quote Eugene Debs, “I am no Moses to lead you out of the wilderness … because if I could lead you out, someone else could lead you in again.”
I joined ACE right after quarantine ended because I was tired of seeing decisions I disagreed with made by people who had never asked for our opinions. I was tired of feeling ignored. We can effect real change if all Covis educators speak with one voice. On my campus, our admin team is fond of the phrase, “Clovis North is not a monolith.” Well, let’s find some issues that we can be monolithic about. Let’s stand together and demand a lowering of class sizes. Let’s stand up and demand to not be the worst paid educators in the valley. Our admin team can ignore one voice, but they cannot ignore 2,000 voices. None of us should wait for heroes to save us. I firmly believe that if all of us joined the conversation, we would work together and find common ground. We would be forced to make decisions that didn’t benefit the few at the expense of the many, and we would be unstoppable.
I urge you to listen to the methods of each employee group. When someone comes to ask for your support for their group, please talk to them, but also listen to their message. Do they want to continue the status quo that has existed for years, with a few powerful people making “heroic” decisions on our behalf? Or are they asking for your opinion on issues that matter to you and encouraging you to get involved and speak up so that together all of our voices are amplified and heard by the admin team? And finally, look at the results and look to the future. Have the years of trust in a small group of heroes brought us the class sizes, benefits, and working conditions we need to be the best educators we can be in providing the best education for our students? Or, like me, do you still often feel that despite the successes we’ve achieved, we’re unheard and ignored? Do you want more power, self-determination, and less reliance on a small group of heroes? I want my voice heard, but paradoxically, it will only be heard if all our voices are heard.
I invite you to join ACE not just for our own individual needs but so that we can come together and amplify our voices. It’s my belief that we can share the burdens and the benefits of our shared struggles, and with true democracy, we can be empowered to make the changes we need for ourselves and our students. I trust that we have the power within us to bring about the change we seek, and the sooner we come together and step into our power, the sooner we can make a real difference.
ACE ELECTIONS UPDATE!
What You Need to Know
ACE is currently holding an election for our Officers, Executive Board, and Representative Council. We are now in the period for declaring candidacy for the positions that exist.
Any ACE/CTA member can nominate themselves or their fellow member to a vacancy. Tonight all members will receive an update in their personal email inboxes with the information about what positions have received nominations and which have not.
If you are a member and do not receive an email, please contact the elections committee at aceelections24@gmail.com.
