Below are the candidate statements of nominees running for the two contested Executive Committee positions. The voting will be held via SimplyVoting from March 24th – March 28th (5PM).
Vice President Unit 1
Stephen Carr
As a 3903 steward, committee member, and Executive Committee member, my history of CUPE activism inspires me to run for Vice President Unit 1.
My union engagement began as a rank-and-file member, when I helped my fellow TAs oppose violations of our collective agreement rights in the Music Department. Together, we confronted departmental mishandling of TA contracts, and when I became our departmental steward I attended faculty meetings personally to fight for compliance with TA workload guidelines and our Right of First Refusal. You may recognize me from the 2024 strike and our frigid days spent at the Northwest Gate, or from Stewards’ Council meetings, which I’ve consistently attended as departmental steward and, more recently, as Lead Steward Unit 1.
As LSU1, I have built strong working relationships with our incredible staff and participated in the demanding work of the Executive Committee. Being elected as VPU1 will allow me to continue projects I’ve already started, including creating informational materials about members’ rights, organizing cross-campus equity and anti-austerity campaigns, and assisting with initiatives for racialized members.
My time serving on committees—including the Mentoring Fund and Support Fund for Racialized Members—has taught me about the critical role of the VPU1. An effective VP needs to be more than just a passionate activist; they must be organized, dependable, and well-versed in our Local’s committee structures and Bylaws.
As VPU1 I will:
Work with our committees to ensure timely, fair, and consistent disbursal of crucial financial support to members through funding committees like EHB and Ways & Means
Assist with the smooth implementation of the recent Bylaw amendments to committee structures and functions
Coordinate with external organizations to strengthen cross-campus and sectoral multi-union mobilization, and, in general, empower our member-driven committees to reach their fullest potential
Thank you for considering my nomination.
Mahyar Mohaghegh
Dear friends and fellow union activists,
I am running for Vice President of Unit 1 because I believe we need strong, organized, and militant leadership to defend and advance our collective power. My experience in union organizing, my broader political activism, and my vision for the coming year make me the right person for the role.
Experience in Union Organizing
I have been active in CUPE 3903 since 2008—first as an undergrad supporting the strike, then as a Unit 3 member during the 2015 strike, where I mobilized undergrads, coordinated rallies, and co-founded the joint strike committee with UofT. After serving as Unit 3 Chief Steward, I left York temporarily, returning for my PhD and playing a key role in the 2024 strike.
During the strike, I helped coordinate major actions, including the Markham campus pickets, the crane operation, and solidarity efforts with other unions. Afterward, I launched the Remobilization Committee, which meets weekly and has sustained organizing through postering, flyering, and town halls. I have also led campaigns on workplace conditions, such as the fight against rodent infestations on campus.
Beyond CUPE, I was a core organizer of the York encampment and founded Students and Workers for the Liberation of Palestine, showing my commitment to broader labor and student solidarity.
What I Will Do as VP Unit 1
- Education: Expand town halls, turn research into agitational material, and train members to bring knowledge into departments.
- Mobilization: Establish departmental organizing committees to strengthen strike readiness.
- Organization: Institutionalize the structures developed in the Remobilization Committee so we are not rebuilding from scratch each time we mobilize.
A strong union is an organized union. Let’s build power together!
Vote for me for VP Unit 1.
Grievance Officer
Marie Abdolahi
My name is Marie A., and I’m running for Grievance Officer. I believe grievances are at the core of union work—they protect our rights, working conditions, and livelihoods. As Grievance Officer, I will support the grievance process with professionalism, confidentiality, and empathy.
I am committed to helping all members, across all units. As a fourth-year PhD student and Unit 1 member, I am very sensitive to how the employer is rushing us through our degrees and undermining our well-being. I’ve followed Unit 2’s messaging closely, from responses to York’s Faculties of the Future restructuring to the fight for fair workload protections. I will attend Stewards’ Council meetings to stay informed and engaged with members’ concerns. All members together are facing increasing challenges at York, often exacerbated by the employer’s approach to workplace issues and student complaints.
I have graduate advocacy and leadership experience at different Canadian universities, including York, in various capacities, which has deepened my understanding of institutional challenges and labor rights. I will bring this experience to CUPE 3903 to strengthen our grievance work, ensuring that all members receive informed, strategic, and dedicated support.
I will support staff in any way I can throughout the grievance process. I will uphold the CUPE 1281 collective agreement with the same care and attention as the CUPE 3903 agreement, valuing staff expertise and ensuring they feel empowered in their roles.
Collaboration and accountability are essential to any leadership role. I will prioritize the regular scheduling of grievance committee meetings and will share relevant workplace developments with the executive in a timely and responsible manner. I also recognize the need for members to balance work, union responsibilities, and personal life, and I will approach my role with that awareness and respect.
I am committed to standing up for our members and strengthening our union through thoughtful, strategic, and dedicated grievance work.
Parbattie Ramsarran
My name is Parbattie Ramsarran, some of you will know me as the current Grievance officer who participated in your grievance, mediation/arbitration or responded to your queries other will remember me as the person, who served food, including samosas during the Strike to all the lines. I am again running for Grievance Officer and is asking for your support. As a member of the Local, I have served on several committees, Bargaining Team, and Grievance officer. Thus, I am familiar with the intricacies of the Local, its Collective Agreement (CA), their interpretation, application, engagement (CUPE Local 3903 has 5 Cas), and the intricate, involved role that is assumed by the Grievance Officer in protecting members rights within the CA.
In this last several years, I have seen both as a member and grievance officer the Local confronting major challenges namely an employer that is derelict in its duties to workers, wants to undermine members’ Collective Agreement Rights, currently university wide “restructuring, ” and “Suspension” of many Liberal Arts programs. Concretely, some of these issues are: undermining members’ seniority and incumbency, misclassification, family status accommodation, accessibility, work load, not issuing contracts to members, the ongoing cancelling of contract, arbitrary suspension of members/contracts, withdrawal of contracts, unpaid leave, overworked, abrupt disciplinary actions, termination, postings, changing posting language without notifying the local, not issuing posting but issuing NRAs, outright ignoring the Local concerns. A case in point, School of Nursing, despite the Local increasing number of grievances remains one of the Local most challenging Department.
Consequently, the Local, to “fight” these strong armed tactics of the employer, and other injustices must utilize the only mechanism that is available namely the grievance process. Albeit, this has simultaneously resulted in the Local incurring insurmountable legal costs; as the Employer seek to reduce CUPE Local 3903 presence on campus. Factually, less than a few years ago, many grievances were settled “in house.” Currently, the majority, if not all grievances are referred to mediation and/or arbitration – a costly legal undertaking for the Local.
As a grievance officer, I have witnessed this erosion of a “workable” labor relationship, and this is having a direct impact on members financial, physical, emotional and mental health. Responding to these many challenges, requires a more pronounced involvement of the Grievance Officer – that is, given my previous experiences, familiarity with the Collective Agreements, grievances, mediation and arbitration – I will be able to continue with many of the existing projects that I am involve in, one of which is to work with staff to track legal spending, implement the Grievance software that is long overdue.
At this critical juncture, the Local needs a grievance officer that is experienced with the many issues the Local is facing and will continue to face, for example, being available to discuss CA issues with staff and members, filing of grievances, – I have several years of experience with filing grievances, knowledge of existing and emerging grievances, and foresight to navigate new issues that members are, and will be encountering. As the current grievance officer, I have been an active part of all of this, responding in a timely manner to members’ inquiry and providing the necessary information, support and referral to members.
I sincerely hope that you will support my candidacy, thank you.
Humbly
Parbattie Ramsarran