The nomination period closed today for CUPE 3903 2026 Executive Committee election. We have a series of acclamations, plus a contested election for the position of Grievance Officer. Congratulations to everyone who will be serving on the Executive Committee this year!
Newly acclaimed Executive Committee members will be transitioning into their new roles sometime after the upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM). Any remaining vacant positions will be subject to future by-elections. Please read onwards for Grievance Officer election details, candidate statements, and information about voting, which will open at the March 19 AGM.
For any elections concerns or voting issues, please contact the Elections Officer at cupe3903eo@gmail.com.
Note: Trans Feminist Action Caucus (TFAC) Co-Chairs are elected by members of TFAC through an independent election run by TFAC election officers. The BIPOC Caucus Chair is also separately elected, by the BIPOC Caucus.
Acclaimed Positions
2026 Executive Committee Election Acclamations
- Chairperson: Zoë Newman
- Recording Secretary: Matt Lomas
- Treasurer: Anson Nater
- Communications Officer: Mackenzie Edwards
- Vice-President Unit 1: Tareq K
- Vice-President Unit 2: Joseph Tohill
- Vice-President Unit 3: Vacant
- Lead Steward Unit 1: Prateeksha Pathak
- Lead Steward Unit 2: Neil Braganza
- Lead Steward Unit 3: Vacant
- Lead Steward Unit 4: Vacant
- Lead Steward Unit 5: Pa Sallah Drammeh
Grievance Officer Election
Info and Timelines
The two candidates for the contested position of Grievance Officer are Keisha Bell and Ryan Kelpin. The campaign period for the Grievance Officer election will last from today, February 25 until the commencement of the March 19 AGM (1-4 PM).
Voting will open at the AGM, and the voting period will run for five days. This is an all-units vote, meaning that any member in any unit is eligible to vote. Voting will be conducted via SimplyVoting. All members will receive a ballot sent to the email address we have on file. If there are any issues with receiving your ballot, please contact the Elections Officer at cupe3903eo@gmail.com.
Candidate Statements
Keisha Bell
I am a 5th year Ph.D candidate in ethnomusicology in AMPD. I’ve been active in leadership since my second year in the program, first as a CUPE steward, then as the president of the GMSA (Graduate Music Students’ Association). I helped our union steward to mobilize TAs in our department to have contracts assigned in a timely manner. I was an active participant in the 2024 strike, serving as both a picket captain and Strike Coordinator. In the winter of 2023, I joined a neighbourhood riding group that worked to pressure our federal MP to speak out against Canadian militarism in Palestine and anti-Palestinian racism in Canada. After 18 months of community pressure, the MP elected not to run in the most recent election. This year I was part of a small group that organized to form the BIPOC caucus, and have been advocating for members experiencing racial harm in their roles as workers and union members.
As someone who grew up in the Global South, my research and activism are rooted in my beliefs in collective liberation and anti-imperialism. I believe that until Canada and its institutions acknowledge that their foundations lie in the trafficking and enslavement of African diasporic peoples, and the dispossession and genocide of Indigenous peoples, liberation for all will never be achieved.
The experience I have gained over the past few years will serve me well in the role of Grievance Officer.
Ryan Kelpin
My name is Ryan Kelpin, and I have been a Unit 2 member of Social Sciences/Work and Labour Studies for the last three years. I am also a father of a 2-year-old and am worried about increasing precarity in the university sector, particularly as it relates to contract work.
I have a long history in the union. I was in one of the last Unit 3 cohorts before they eliminated over 700 unionized positions. I was in Unit 1 when they started trying to further separate unionized work from fellowship and grants. And I was in Unit 2 in the last round when they tried to attack the entire seniority system.
Grievances have increasingly become the normal operating procedure of York’s administration and their attempts to further neoliberalize the institution. Their violations to the CA and hiring protocols have been emboldened by this environment and must be met head on. As hard-fought equity and anti-harassment provisions have come under increasing attack both within the university, and without, we must remain vigilant. Through grievances, working directly with staff and membership, and as an ex officio member of the Bargaining Team, this is something I would take very seriously.