Create your Member Portal Account

You must have your OPSEU member number to register. If you don't know your member number, contact Susan Lau (President) or Melissa Mellor (Treasurer)

1. Go to the Portal Registration Form

2. Enter your OPSEU Member Number, First Name, Last Name, private (non-Mohawk) email address.

3. Create a username and password, then click Register.

4. If your information does not match, contact Susan Lau or Melissa Mellor for support.

Add your Dependents and Direct Deposit Information

1. Go to the Portal Login Page. Bookmark this page for later!

2. Log in with your username and password. If you don't remember them, use the Forgot your...? link next to the login form.

3. Add your direct deposit information: On the right, click Direct Deposit Agreement. If you get an error, use a different browser like Firefox or Edge. 

   • It may take several days for OPSEU staff to verify your information. Check the My Profile page for "Banking info on file Yes"

4. OPSEU staff will verify your direct deposit information and approve it within 3 business days.

5. Add Dependents: On the left, click Dependent Information > Add New

Who are eligible dependents?

• a non-income-earning spouse (excluding a spouse on strike). If both spouses are on strike, both may claim the dependents.

• a child under 18 (or under 26 if attending school full-time) OR a dependent child as defined by the collective agreement or benefit plan

• a disabled family member or

• an elderly family member who normally receives financial support from the striking member.

For more info on strike pay and benefits, see the OPSEU FAQ

Picket Captains are needed to provide on-the-ground organizing and support for our members. Training will be provided! Register now

• Picket line attendance and time keeping

• Coordinating with the Strike Committee for materials, resources, and supporting needs.

• Supporting scheduling and organizing picket lines as members of the Strike Committee

• Interact with police and security when necessary

How many hours/days do I need to picket for strike pay?

• Members must perform 4 or more hours of strike duty per day and a total of 20 hours per week to be eligible for strike pay.

• The strike will start on Thursday, September 11. Each schedule week will be Thursday through Wednesday. 

How will strike payments be made?

• OPSEU/SEFPO will send strike and dependent pay by direct deposit. You must add your dependent information and complete the direct deposit authorization form in the OPSEU member portal. Instructions at the top of this page. 

How much is strike pay?

• OPSEU/SEFPO pays

  • Week 1-3 maximum: $450 per week + $125 per dependent

  • Week 4+ maximum: $550 per week + $125 per dependent

• Local strike pay: To be determined at Membership Meeting on Tuesday September 9 at 7 pm. 

Who are eligible dependents?

• a non-income-earning spouse (excluding a spouse on strike). If both spouses are on strike, both may claim the dependents.

• a child under 18 (or under 26 if attending school full-time) OR a dependent child as defined by the collective agreement or benefit plan

• a disabled family member or

• an elderly family member who normally receives financial support from the striking member.

What are the Mohawk College picket locations?

• Fennell Campus - 135 Fennell Ave West, Hamilton

• Stoney Creek Campus - 481 Barton St, Stoney Creek

• IAHS at McMaster University - Main St W at University Ave, Hamilton

What are the picketing shifts?

• 8 am to noon and Noon to 4 pm, Monday to Friday

Can I picket at another campus or college that's closer to where I live?
Can I join a Mohawk picket if I work at another college? 

• Yes. Fill our local's preferred picket location form.

What is the picketing schedule and expectations?

• Members are expected to picket one shift per day, five days a week, for a total of 20 hours. 

• Flexibility will be needed for coverage at the most visible locations, with adjustments to coverage being made as needed.

I require a disability or human rights accommodation for picket duties.

• Fill out the accommodation form. A member of the accommodations committee will reach out to discuss alternative duties before the strike. 

Members with part-time teaching contracts are permitted to enter the college to fulfill their teaching hours.

• Do not perform any support staff work during the strike.

• Do not access support staff offices during the strike.

If you are a full-time member on the recall list with an active grievance, you are permitted to perform strike duty. 

Will Mohawk members be paid on the next regular pay date (September 12) and the annual special allowance?

• Yes.

Will benefits continue during the strike?

• Yes. OPSEU will be paying for our benefits. Continue using your benefits and submitting claims as you normally would. 

Will the supplementary parental leave payment  (aka top-up) continue during the strike?

• No. Any member on parental leave can picket to receive strike and dependent pay. 

• EI parental leave benefits are not impacted during a strike.

Will Short-Term Disability continue during the strike?

• No. Short-term disability is paid by the employer and will not continue during a strike.

• The local will work with impacted members to ensure they are appropriately accommodated with duties to receive strike and dependent pay. 

Will parking payroll deductions continue during the strike?

• No. Deductions will stop during the strike.

• Members who use payroll deductions will be able to park on campus up to September 12, after which they must pay for parking. 

• Deductions will resume and account for the strike when it ends. 

Will pension contributions continue during the strike?

• No. Pension contributions will stop during the strike.

• CAAT Pension will contact affected members with information on pension contribution buy-backs after the strike ends. 

OPSEU/SEFPO Staff will have financial relief letters, specific to your home bank, available for members upon request. 

Members experiencing extreme financial hardship should reach out to their Local’s Hardship Relief subcommittee (email coming soon) for emergency relief.

• Mortgage or Rent: Talk to your bank, credit union, or landlord to negotiate a plan.

• Taxes: Ask your municipality if you can defer property taxes.

• Utilities: Approach each one with a request to defer at least part of the charges.

• Loans: Ask the lender about a deferral. If that’s not possible, consider refinancing to reduce the payments.

• Credit Cards: Investigate all other avenues before carrying balances on your credit cards.

• Insurance: Look for ways to spread out payments

• Pets and children are not permitted on the picket line

We acknowledge the hardship being on strike can cause, especially when our wages have not kept up with inflation over many years. We will all feel that hardship. 

Working through a strike undermines the efforts of your co-workers fighting for improvements to your own employment contract. 

Many of us are living pay cheque to pay cheque. This is a sign that your employer is not paying you fairly, and a strike may be the only way to change that. If you can't afford to strike, you can't afford not to. The best way to earn money during a strike is on the picket line.

Any wages earned by a strikebreaking member could be subject to fines, as per OPSEU's Constitution:

OPSEU Constitution Article 30: Strikebreaking

30.1.1 After giving reasonable written notice of a membership meeting to all Members of a Local for whom the Local has addresses, such notice to specify the purpose of the meeting and naming the Member(s) who is/are accused, and after all attending Members (and especially the accused) have had a reasonable opportunity to present their views, such local membership meeting may vote by a two-thirds majority to declare that a Member of that Local has engaged in strikebreaking, on more than one occasion, during a given legal strike by the Local.

30.2.1 The assessment for damages to the Union for strikebreaking shall be an amount equal to 100 per cent of the strikebreaker’s wages earned during the strike, to a maximum of $10,000 in consideration of the harm to the Union caused by the strikebreaker’s action.

30.2.2 The strikebreaker will be suspended from membership, removed from any Union office currently held, and the Member’s name will be recorded on a central public registry. These penalties shall remain in effect until the assessment in Art. 30.2.1 has either been paid or collected, if necessary, through enforcement in civil court.

30.3 The Member so penalized and/or assessed damages shall have the right to appeal to the Executive Board, which, after hearing all relevant evidence and arguments, shall have the authority to confirm, vary or nullify the penalty and/or forgive or vary the assessed damages, as it may in its discretion decide. After a period of one year from the date of imposition of the assessment set out in Article 30.2.1, and the penalty set out in Article 30.2.2, an individual may apply to their Local for the penalty to be lifted and/or the assessment to be forgiven. The Local may decide to confirm, vary or nullify the penalty and/or forgive or vary the assessed damages at its discretion.