Professional Women's Hockey League Players Association

This article is about the PWHL labour union. It is not to be confused with Professional Women's Hockey Players Association.

The Professional Women's Hockey League Players Association (PWHLPA) is the labour union for the group of professional hockey players under contract with member teams of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). The Association serves as PWHL players' exclusive collective bargaining agent. Leadership consists of an executive committee and player representatives from each of the six PWHL teams; Brian Burke serves as the executive director.

Professional Women's Hockey League Players Association

Abbreviation	PWHLPA
Formation	2023
Headquarters	Toronto, Ontario
Location	Canada United States
Executive Committee	Kendall Coyne Schofield Brianne Jenner Hilary Knight Liz Knox Sarah Nurse
Executive Director	Brian Burke
Player representatives	One per team (6 in 2023–24)
Website	www.pwhlpa.com

In July 2023, the PWHLPA and the PWHL agreed on an eight-year collective bargaining agreement, which is in force from 2023 to 2031.

History

PWHPA

Main article: Professional Women's Hockey Players Association

Following the dissolution of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) in 2019, over 200 prominent women's players, including Canadian and American national team players, founded the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) to advocate for and organize towards a unified and stable professional women's hockey league.^[1][2] Although the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) had been founded as the first truly professional women's league in 2015, PWHPA players vowed to boycott it.^[2] The NWHL was blamed in part for the collapse of the CWHL, and PWHPA players also saw the NWHL as unstable—for example, it had a history of pay cuts and minimum salaries reportedly as low as $2,000.^[3][4] As such, the PWHPA intended to instead pursue the establishment of a new league with what they considered a sustainable business model.^[5]

The PWHPA spent the next several years courting corporate, media, and National Hockey League (NHL) partnerships, organizing a "Dream Gap" tour to generate support for its goal.^[6] For its part, the NHL proved unwilling to put its support fully behind the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF)—the rebranded NWHL—or establishing a new women's league with the PWHPA, and it encouraged the sides to discuss a merger.^[7]

In 2022, the PWHPA entered a partnership with Mark Walter and Billie Jean King with the intent to launch their new professional league.^[8]

The PWHL

In February 2023, the PWHPA organized a formal union—the PWHLPA—to represent players and negotiate a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) for the new league.^[9][10] On June 29, it was announced that the PWHPA's two business partners, under the names of Mark Walter Group and BJK Enterprises, had purchased the PHF and its intellectual properties with the intent of effectively winding it down and merging it with the new venture.^[11][12] The partners then announced the foundation of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL), with the intent to begin play in January 2024.^[13] On July 2, the PWHLPA formally ratified the new CBA, set to last for eight years, expiring in the summer of 2031.^[14][15]

The CBA establishes that each PWHL team must sign at least six players to a minimum salary of $80,000, and no more than nine players to a league minimum salary of $35,000, with teams instructed to achieve an average salary of $55,000; the base and average salaries are slated to increase 3% per season through the end of the agreement. The CBA further outlines performance and team bonuses, including a $63,250 bonus for the championship-winning team, and other financial incentives, including housing stipends and retirement plans.^[14][15] The agreement also includes health and disability insurance and workers' compensation, as well as guarantees around medical examinations and assistance and player safety.^[15]

On August 29, the union hired Brian Burke as its executive director.^[16] In the fall of 2023, it was revealed that the union's executive committee consisted of PWHL players Brianne Jenner, Sarah Nurse, Hilary Knight, and Kendall Coyne Schofield, and former PWHPA board member and CWHL Players Association chair Liz Knox.^[17] In December 2023, less than two weeks before the start of the inaugural PWHL season, each team selected a player representative to serve on the union's board of directors.^[18]

Leadership

Executive Committee

• Brianne Jenner
• Liz Knox
• Sarah Nurse
• Hilary Knight
• Kendall Coyne Schofield

Player representatives

Selected ahead of the 2023–24 season:^[18]

• Hilary Knight (Boston)
• Lee Stecklein (Minnesota)
• Laura Stacey (Montréal)
• Micah Zandee-Hart (New York)
• Jincy Roese (Ottawa)
• Natalie Spooner (Toronto)

Executive Directors

• Brian Burke, 2023–present^[16]

References

1. Rutherford, Kristina (2019-03-31). "Questions, frustration remain in wake of CWHL's decision to fold". Sportsnet. from the original on 2019-04-02. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
2. Kaplan, Emily (2019-05-02). "Women's hockey stars to boycott pro leagues". ESPN. from the original on 2019-05-03. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
3. Berkman, Seth (2016-11-22). "Pay Cuts Jolt Women's Pro League and Leave Its Future Uncertain". New York Times. from the original on 2016-11-25. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
4. Johnson, Randy (2019-05-03). "Whitecaps standouts and other Olympians won't play until demands are met". Star Tribune. from the original on 2024-01-19. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
5. . Professional Women's Hockey Players Association. Archived from the original on 2023-06-01. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
6. Wawrow, John (2022-03-02). "PWHPA inching closer to forming women's pro hockey league". CBC Sports. Associated Press. from the original on 2022-03-14. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
7. "NHL asks PWHPA and PHF to meet in pursuit of forming a unified women's league". Sportsnet. 2022-03-17. from the original on 2022-03-24. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
8. Salvian, Hailey (2022-05-24). "PWHPA, Billie Jean King considering new league: Source". The Athletic. from the original on June 30, 2023. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
9. Salvian, Hailey (2023-02-23). "PWHPA organize formal union, negotiating CBA with their investor group: Sources". The Athletic. from the original on 2023-09-18. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
10. Zwolinksi, Mark (2023-02-27). "PWHPA union and contract talks reportedly move new women's hockey league closer to reality". Toronto Star. from the original on 2024-01-18. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
11. Wyshynski, Greg (2023-06-29). "Sources: Premier Hockey Federation sale could unite women's hockey". ESPN. from the original on 2023-06-30. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
12. Salvian, Hailey (2023-06-30). "What we know about the PHF shutdown, and more on the new pro women's hockey league". The Athletic. from the original on June 30, 2023. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
13. Silverman, Alex (2023-08-29). "PWHL announces plans for inaugural season". Sports Business Journal. from the original on 2024-01-18. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
14. Kennedy, Ian (2023-07-03). "CBA Compensation Details: New Professional Women's Hockey League". The Hockey News. SI. from the original on 2023-10-01. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
15. "Collective Bargaining Agreement Between Professional Women's Hockey League and Professional Women's Hockey League Players Association" (PDF). PWHLPA.com. (PDF) from the original on 2024-01-07. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
16. "Brian Burke named executive director of pro women's hockey players' union". Sportsnet. 2023-08-29. from the original on 2023-09-03. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
17. Bellerose, Sam (2023-10-03). "Liz Knox to serve on Executive Committee of PWHL Players Association". Laurier Athletics. Wilfrid Laurier University. from the original on 2024-01-18. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
18. Kennedy, Ian (2023-12-20). . The Hockey News. SI. Archived from the original on 2024-01-18. Retrieved 2024-01-18.

External links

• Official website