It appears that the labour dispute between the ECHL and the Professional Hockey Players’ Association (PHPA) is coming to an end.
The two sides announced Saturday that a tentative agreement has been reached to end the players' strike, which officially began on Friday, and remains subject to ratification by the PHPA’s ECHL membership and approval by the ECHL Board of Governors.
The union said that "players will report to their teams in good faith and prepare to return to play."
Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman initially reported the news on the Saturday Headlines segment of Hockey Night in Canada.
The PHPA initially issued a strike notice to the league on Dec. 22, stating that its members would commence job action on Dec. 26 if no resolution was reached.
Once the deadline hit and the union began its strike, a total of 28 games had been postponed.
The PHPA cited travel for back-to-back games, a holiday break, guaranteed contracts, health benefits during the offseason and player compensation as unresolved issues in talks on a new collective bargaining agreement.
“Our members are simply seeking reasonable improvements that allow them to work safely and earn a sustainable living while continuing to perform at a high level,” executive director Brian Ramsay said. “Despite the union’s repeated efforts to meet and engage in bargaining, the league has continued to communicate directly with players in a manner that bypasses the union’s role as the exclusive bargaining representative.”
Members of the PHPA voted last week to authorize its negotiating committee to call for a strike. The league and union have been engaged in collective bargaining since January.
The ECHL said Friday that the PHPA did not respond to what it called its last offer for a new collective bargaining agreement.
“Unfortunately, union leaders deprived players of the opportunity to vote on our last, best, and final offer," the ECHL said in a statement, adding it would raise player salaries 20 per cent in the first year, increase per diems, guarantee more off days and expand equipment made available to players. "We did everything possible to avoid this outcome and hope that the union leadership will drop its unworkable scheduling demands, let the players vote on our offer and make it possible for players to return to work.”
The league said its latest offer increased the salary cap by 19.8 per cent, up from the 16.4 per cent in the proposal posted to its website Monday.
Formerly known as the East Coast Hockey League and now going just by the acronym, is a North American developmental league that is two levels below the NHL, with the American Hockey League in between. There are 30 teams, 29 of which are in the U.S. and one in Canada in Trois-Rivières, Que.
— with files from the Associated Press
