Janelle Hanna, a member of CUPE 3903’s bargaining team, wants people to know that “ not every bargaining process ends with a strike. Since their first meeting with the University on July 6, 2026, the team has spent almost 120 hours in bargaining meetings with the University, according to Hanna. CUPE 3903’s bargaining team is meeting with Matthew Hamilton, the conciliator appointed by the Ministry of Labour, on Oct. 29. The first conciliator-facilitated meeting with both York University and the union will take place on Nov. 13.
Hanna has been teaching at York since 2016, first as a graduate student and member of Unit One, and now as contract faculty in Unit Two, instructing theatre courses. A significant portion of teaching at York is done by members in these two units, which includes full-time graduate students who work as teaching assistants, contract faculty who are course directors, and graduate research assistants, among other roles.
According to Hanna, “[The bargaining team] came in in July with a complete package of proposals for the employer.” Four more proposals were added in August, but the finalized version has been received for “months now.” Hanna says this was done so the process could be efficient and avoid a strike.
Some of the proposals address the introduction of AI tools like YU Aura, which has presented a new host of challenges for CUPE 3903 members. As Hanna explains, the automated tools can “hallucinate and give incorrect answers, which only goes to create extra work for our TAs and our contract faculty.” This additional burden of labour is one that some members feel they never consented to. In a counter-proposal to the Union’s, the University has offered a joint committee that can discuss AI policies but would not be able to meaningfully enforce anything. Hanna argues that this is an insufficient measure. “Our members need protection now with real article language in our collective agreement.”
Another point of contention has been CUPE’s health benefits, the majority of which have not increased in 18 years to keep up with the rising cost of living or inflation. Their health and safety articles haven’t received updates in over 30 years. In a blog post titled “Is your Office or Classroom too hot?” professional engineer and associate professor James Andrew Smith of Lassonde noted that York University’s Health, Safety and Employee Well-Being (HSEWB) office made significant changes to the language and standards for safe temperatures and CO2 thresholds for campus offices.
Before the fall 2024 term, the acceptable CO2 threshold was 1000 ppm, before a dramatic increase to 5000 ppm. He also noted that the temperature ranges previously defined as “acceptable” had been reduced to merely “recommended” ranges, as reported in an excerpt from internal documents attributed to the HSEWB office that are not publicly available at the time of publication. “They lowered it to the absolute lowest standard that they could legally permit,” says Hanna, adding that multiple unions on campus pushed back.
With all of the concerns CUPE 3903 has brought forward, it is uncertain exactly when the negotiation process might escalate. Excalibur contacted Alex Brat, the assistant vice-president, labour relations, of York University, for a comment. A response was not received in time for publication. The current phase with the conciliator will likely last several months before CUPE 3903 would consider a strike mandate vote, the final stage before a labour disruption.
Hanna reiterates that the members of CUPE 3903 “don’t want to strike.” Hanna herself finds teaching fulfilling, and thinks that anyone working as a contracted person without job security must enjoy it, “because it comes with a level of precarity that is really difficult to have in your life.”
CUPE 3903 currently has open bargaining, meaning any member of the union can attend their meetings to witness and engage in the process. To learn more and stay up-to-date on reports, visit cupe3903.org.
