JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Professional Hockey Players’ Association (PHPA) announced a strike to start on Friday, which could impact the Jacksonville Icemen.
The strike is centered around the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL).
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PHPA said on Tuesday that a strike notice was delivered last week and is set to start on Friday.
The strike comes in response to what the PHPA called ongoing unfair labor practices by the ECHL. These practices, the association said, have undermined the collective bargaining process between the players and the league.
PHPA said the dispute dates back to late spring and early summer when the league made unilateral changes to mandatory bargaining subjects and engaged in regressive negotiations.
The PHPA then filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board to address the league’s conduct and restore good-faith bargaining.
“We have informed the ECHL that we are willing to continue discussions to resolve all outstanding matters. For several months, we have been engaged in bargaining with the league, and their unlawful and coercive conduct throughout this process has been incredibly disappointing,” PHPA Executive Director Brian Ramsay said in a statement. “We are asking for basic standards around health, safety and working conditions that allow the players to remain healthy, compete at a high level and build sustainable professional careers. Our members have never been more united and remain ready to return to the bargaining table at any time. We sincerely hope the ECHL will engage in good-faith negotiations so a fair agreement can be reached and any disruption to the season can be avoided.”
The ECHL responded in a statement posted to its website on Wednesday:
We are reaching out to provide an update on collective bargaining with the Professional Hockey Players’ Association (PHPA) as we approach the union’s self-imposed deadline of Friday, December 26, to reach a new deal before threatening to go on strike – something that would result in players not getting paid and losing housing and medical benefits – which the ECHL and its teams want to avoid.
The union continues to misrepresent our proposals and our offer, and continues to insist on extreme demands that are holding us from reaching a deal. Below is a chart that sets the record straight and reiterates that we are not engaging with the union’s publicity stunts that distracts us from our ultimate goal of reaching an agreement that will:
- Dramatically increase player compensation
- Improve player health and safety, and
- Deliver on new initiatives that are responsive to our players needs on and off the ice.
At the same time, we have to do this in a way that both rewards our players and sets up the long-term success of our teams and the sustainability of our league so that we can continue to grow, put on an entertaining and financially accessible product for our fans, and provide as many opportunities as possible to play and develop young players for the next level.
We continue to be willing to bargain and reach a deal that avoids a strike and sets us up for long-term growth. No matter what happens, it will not be possible for us to agree to a new deal that could potentially have dire consequences for teams and the future of our league.
We hope that the PHPA is willing to bargain, and we can reach an agreement that allows us to continue to compete for fans.
For a breakdown of the ECHL’s counterarguments against the PHPA’s claims, click here.
There is no word from the Icemen on whether this will impact Friday’s game against the Orlando Solar Bears.