Professional Hockey Players' Association
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The Professional Hockey Players' Association, or PHPA, is the labor union that represents the interests of hockey players in the
American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...
and
ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...
, the two largest minor leagues in North American professional
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
. Established in 1967, the PHPA is one of the oldest players' unions in professional sports and the only minor league Players' Association within a major league sport. Recognized by the US
National Labor Relations Board The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States with responsibilities for enforcing U.S. labor law in relation to collective bargaining and unfair labor practices. Under the Natio ...
as the certified
bargaining unit A bargaining unit, in labor relations, is a group of employees with a clear and identifiable community of interests who is (under US law) represented by a single labor union in collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negoti ...
for all members enrolled in the Association, the main function of the PHPA is to negotiate and protect various player benefits by way of a
Collective Bargaining Agreement A collective agreement, collective labour agreement (CLA) or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is a written contract negotiated through collective bargaining for employees by one or more trade unions with the management of a company (or with an ...
. These benefits include: health and welfare benefits, training camp allowances, travel and trade relocation expenses, per diem, housing allowances, play-off shares, licensing rights, revenue-sharing, and membership assistance programs.


History

The Professional Hockey Player's Association was founded in 1967 in
Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
, when members of the
Portland Buckaroos The Portland Buckaroos was the name of several professional ice hockey teams based in Portland, Oregon. PCHL/NWHL era (1928–1941) The first incarnation of Portland Buckaroos played their home games at the Portland Ice Arena. The Buckaroos ini ...
(of the now defunct
Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...
(WHL)) recognized that Canadians playing hockey in the United States who were starting families would send their wives home to Canada to give birth to their babies. Canada's social insurance system would cover the expense for Canadian citizens in Canada, but the teams provided no coverage usable in the U.S. A number of Portland Buckaroos, including Doug Messier, Arlo Goodwin, and teammates, led the group and hired Portland attorney Curt Leichner as their legal counsel to legally form a WHL Players Association to allow WHL players to take advantage of group pension and health care plans, gaining better benefits through strength in numbers. Over the course of the 1967–68 season, players from the
American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...
saw the benefit of forming a “benevolent society” of their own and approached their WHL counterparts with the vision of creating one players' association which would represent all professional hockey players outside of the
National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
(NHL). On May 20, 1968, WHL and AHL players voted to form the “Professional Hockey Players’ Association". After the 1973–74 season, former WHL President
Max McNab Maxwell Douglas McNab (June 21, 1924 – September 2, 2007) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, coach, and National Hockey League (NHL) general manager. He played in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings between 1947 and 1951, winning the ...
became the fourth President of the
Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...
(CHL), a developmental league for professional minor league hockey players, which featured some teams that were affiliates for various NHL clubs. With a number of former WHL executives at the helm of the CHL, players were eager to organize a collective voice and become members of the PHPA. A small group of elected CHL player representatives was invited to the PHPA’s annual meeting of player representatives to discuss the application to the PHPA among player representatives from the WHL and AHL. On May 17, 1974, a motion was passed whereby the CHL players' application for membership into the PHPA was accepted. CHL players were represented by the PHPA until 1984, when the league folded. The WHL folded in 1974, citing financial pressures resulting from the WHL’s prime venues being taken by the expansion practices of the NHL and
World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...
(WHA). The PHPA remained healthy as it still represented players in two leagues, the AHL and CHL. In 1985, players in the former
International Hockey League (1945–2001) The International Hockey League (IHL) was a minor professional ice hockey league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1945 to 2001. The IHL served as the National Hockey League's alternate Farm team, farm system to the American Hock ...
(IHL) petitioned the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to join the PHPA. IHL owners accepted the PHPA as the recognized bargaining unit for IHL players without the need for a formal NLRB vote. In 1991, Larry Landon was asked by the PHPA Executive Committee to succeed Curt Leichner, who was preparing for retirement, as the new Executive Director. Landon assumed the role of Deputy Executive Director until 1993, when he officially assumed control of the PHPA. Landon then moved the PHPA office from Portland, Oregon, to St. Catharines, Ontario. In 1994, a group of players from the
East Coast Hockey League The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...
approached Landon about being represented by the PHPA. At the 1994 PHPA Annual Meeting of Player Representatives, AHL and IHL player representatives unanimously approved the effort to unionize the ECHL, and during the 1994-95 season, PHPA staff initiated efforts to represent ECHL players. Eventually, on March 17, 1995, the NLRB conducted a formal, secret ballot vote among players in each ECHL city. The result was an overwhelming response from the players in favor of unionizing the ECHL, with the first PHPA-ECHL CBA finalized in October 1995. By 2000, the AHL had a dramatically different look, as almost half of its twenty teams were new, and attendance had almost doubled since 1994. The IHL meanwhile, suffering from significant contraction and challenges in many of its markets, folded in 2001. During the 2007–08 season, players in the
Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...
(CHL) approached the PHPA with interest in PHPA representation of CHL players. On April 1, 2008, the NLRB recognized the PHPA as the official bargaining unit for CHL players, after a secret-ballot vote conducted by the NLRB. The league and PHPA reached an inaugural CBA in October 2009, which was retained until the CHL and ECHL consolidated in 2014. In 2010, the PHPA relocated its headquarters to
Niagara Falls, Ontario Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is on the western bank of the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario, with a population of 88,071 at the 2016 census. It is part of the St. Catharines - Niagara Census M ...
. Currently, the PHPA represents approximately 1,600 players across 58 teams throughout the AHL and ECHL, which are the premier player development leagues for the NHL.


Organization

The PHPA’s management is led by Executive Director Larry Landon, who heads an Executive Committee of player representatives from the AHL and ECHL. For every five teams in a league, one player representative may be added to the Executive Committee. The Committee assists the Executive Director in providing direction and oversight in dealing with various matter of importance to the Association and its membership, including budgetary matters, player issues, strategic planning, and other business affairs.


External links


Professional Hockey Players' Association

American Hockey League

ECHL
Trade unions in Canada Trade unions in the United States Trade unions established in 1967 Sports trade unions Minor league hockey Niagara Falls, Ontario Organizations based in Ontario 1967 establishments in North America