About Us
Members. Workers. Activists.
Who We Are
First founded in 1973, CUPE 3902 is the largest university-based academic union in Canada. Our local represents workers in a variety of job categories at the University of Toronto, University of St. Michael’s College, and Victoria University.
Who Unit 1 Serves
CUPE 3902 Unit 1 represents over 8,000 members who work tirelessly as Teaching Assistants, Course Instructors, Tutors, Markers, Exam Invigilators, and Chief Presiding Officers. We’re students and academics, who are committed to our communities and students.
OUR TEAMS
The Bargaining Committee brings your Bargaining Platform to the negotiating table with your Employer and works to secure a new Collective Agreement that advances work conditions for all Unit 1 workers.
Lily Ziyue Zhang – Committee Chair
CUPE 3902 First Vice-President
“Amidst steep inflation and the rising costs of living, UofT’s proposed cuts to our health benefits send a resounding message: university profits take precedence over our well-being. I organized a petition with our team of Stewards and fellow Members at UTM against these proposed cuts, successfully preventing vision elimination, dental reduction by 12%, and a 35% Health Care Spending Account cut.
I believe that only together can we strive for improved working conditions, wages, and benefits, research excellence, and better education for all! Despite the Employer’s indifference, collective action is our resistance!”
Diana M. Barrero (she/her) – Co-Lead Negotiator
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) program at Department of Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning, specializing in Women and Gender Studies
“I am privileged to be Lúa’s mom. I am also an advocate for public education and am completing my Ph.D. in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning, and specializing in Women and Gender Studies.
As a Unit 1 member, I have worked across the three UofT campuses. I have worked as a teaching assistant in the Women and Gender Studies (UTM) and International Development Studies (UTSC) programs, as well as an academic advisor at the OISE Student Success Centre.
I am excited to be part of the bargaining team to defend our past wins and improve our overall working conditions as academic workers.
Previously, I served as the recording secretary and treasurer for CUPE local 3907 (now 3902’s unit 7), as well as 3902’s Chief Returning Officer, and a member of CUPE ON’s Racial Justice Committee.“
Tiffany Balducci – Co-Lead Negotiator
CUPE 3902 Staff Representative
“I’m excited about working together with the strong membership of CUPE 3902 to create a more transparent and equitable workplace for members of Unit 1. U of T should take care of it’s workers as much as the workers take care of the institution. Together, we will win!“
Marie Haines – Bargaining Committee Member
Doctor of Musical Arts program at Faculty of Music, specializing in Piano Performance and Pedagogy
“Faculty of Music is suffering from the way U of T has treated us, and we will not tolerate it any longer. I’m excited to advocate for the unfunded and underfunded students across the university and fight for a better quality of life for all of us!”
Sophie McGibbon-Gardner – Bargaining Committee Member
Job/Degree/Department
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Konrad Wozniak – Bargaining Committee Member
Undergraduate student in Math, Statistics and Computer Science (UTM)
“I am an undergraduate TA in the UTM MCS (Math, Statistics, Computer Science) department. I TA various computer science courses. I have also been stewarding for my department since last Spring.
I am passionate about bringing an undergraduate perspective to the bargaining table. I am also interested in the way that unions such as CUPE can shape our future with emergent technologies such as AI (artificial intelligence).
I am happy to be on the bargaining team and looking forward to negotiating a better collective agreement for all of us!”
Adam Zendel – Bargaining Committee Member
Geography and Planning, Canadian Studies, Urban Studies
“Don’t Mourn – Organize!”
The Bargaining Support Committee provides Unit 1 members with support during all stages of bargaining.
Owen Mototsune
Committee Chair and Member Mobilizer
Unit 1 TA and PhD Candidate in Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry
“I’m honored to be on this team and ecstatic to be working together with my fellow students to make U of T a better place to study, teach, and live. The work we do as TAs is important and valuable. We deserve a university that treats its employees with dignity and fairness.”
Eriks Bredovskis
Committee Member
CUPE 3902 President
“I’ve worked at UofT for 7 years in the History Department as a TA and Course Instructor. It’s my third round of bargaining working here, but it’s my first time on the bargaining team. In the last round of bargaining, I was involved with bargaining support, and that was lots of fun, but now I’m very excited to take part at the bargaining table and demand better from our employer!”
Lily Ziyue Zhang
Committee Member
CUPE 3902 First Vice-President, and PhD Student in the Department of Geography, Geomatics and Environment (UTM) collaborative specialization with the Dalla Lana School of Public Health in Global Health
“I believe that only together can we strive for improved working conditions, wages, and benefits, research excellence, and better education for all! Despite the Employer’s indifference, collective action is our resistance!”
Aleksandra Elias Chereque
Committee Member
Unit 1 TA and Department of Physics
“Collective bargaining is the way we concentrate our power to be able to negotiate with our employer and have a voice in the larger labour movement. I really believe this work is crucial and am honoured to play a part in it.”
Julian Nickel
Member Mobilizer
Unit 1 TA and PhD Candidate in the Department of Physics
“It is an honour and a privilege to represent my fellow CUPE 3902 members through the bargaining support committee in our struggle for just working conditions and compensation in the face of a rising cost of living.”
Jane O’Brien Davis
Contract Action Team Coordinator
Department of Geography and Planning
Maria Dawson (she/her)
Member Mobilizer
Unit 1 TA and PhD Candidate in the Department of History
“I am excited to be part of this team organizing for a safer and more just workplace!”
Liv Engel
Member Mobilizer
Unit 1 TA and PhD Candidate in the Department of Psychology
“I believe everyone has the right to a safe and just workplace. I am honoured to work with my fellow CUPE 3902 members to collectively advocate for better working conditions!”
Titilola Omotosho
Lead Phone Banker
PhD in Department of Social Justice Education with Collaborative Specialization in Global Health
“The university’s teaching and research is a product of our effective collaborative effort therefore we deserve better working conditions to keep the university’s educational standard. Speaking with one voice is our power to achieve greater success.“
Alexander Slamen
Committee Member
Department of Mathematics
“I am honored and excited to be fighting for a better workplace for CUPE3902 members. Our strength comes from solidarity, and I hope to foster it across campus.“
Marianna Reis
Communications Coordinator
Unit 1 TA and PhD Candidate in the Department of Anthropology
“As graduate student workers, the University depends on us to provide top-tier education. In the fight for more just working conditions for Unit 1 members, we can only depend on our collective power. I am thrilled to be a part of building that power.“
Pamela Arancibia
Committee Member
CUPE 3902 Staff Organizer
“It’s an exciting time to be a staff member at CUPE 3902. Unit 1 workers are more organised than ever before, and, together with their campus comrades, they’re ready to fight for quality education and the working conditions they deserve. I’m looking forward to working alongside them to win the strongest collective agreement in the academic sector.”