 | |
| Abbreviation | PWHLPA |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2023 |
| Headquarters | Toronto,Ontario |
| Location | |
Executive Committee | Kendall Coyne Schofield Brianne Jenner Hilary Knight Liz Knox Sarah Nurse |
Executive Director | Malaika Underwood[1] |
Player representatives | One per team (6 in 2023–24) |
| Website | www |
TheProfessional Women's Hockey League Players Association (PWHLPA) is thelabor union for the group of professionalhockey players under contract with member teams of theProfessional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). The Association serves as PWHL players' exclusivecollective 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.
In July 2023, the PWHLPA and the PWHL agreed on an eight-yearcollective bargaining agreement, which is in force from 2023 to 2031.
Following thedissolution of theCanadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) in 2019, over 200 prominent women's players, includingCanadian andAmerican national team players, founded theProfessional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) to advocate for and organize towards a unified and stable professional women's hockey league.[2][3] Although theNational Women's Hockey League (NWHL) had been founded as the first truly professional women's league in 2015, PWHPA players vowed to boycott it.[3] 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.[4][5] As such, the PWHPA intended to instead pursue the establishment of a new league with what they considered a sustainable business model.[6]
The PWHPA spent the next several years courting corporate, media, andNational Hockey League (NHL) partnerships, organizing a "Dream Gap" tour to generate support for its goal.[7] For its part, the NHL proved unwilling to put its support fully behind thePremier 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.[8]
In 2022, the PWHPA entered a partnership withMark Walter andBillie Jean King with the intent to launch their new professional league.[9]
In February 2023, the PWHPA organized a formal union—the PWHLPA—to represent players and negotiate acollective bargaining agreement (CBA) for the new league.[10][11] 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.[12][13] The partners then announced the foundation of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL), with the intent to begin play in January 2024.[14] On July 2, the PWHLPA formally ratified the new CBA, set to last for eight years, expiring in the summer of 2031.[15][16]
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.[15][16] The agreement also includes health and disability insurance and workers' compensation, as well as guarantees around medical examinations and assistance and player safety.[16]
On August 29, the union hiredBrian Burke as its executive director.[17] In the fall of 2023, it was revealed that the union's executive committee consisted of PWHL playersBrianne Jenner,Sarah Nurse,Hilary Knight, andKendall Coyne Schofield, and former PWHPA board member and CWHL Players Association chairLiz Knox.[18] 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.[19]
Selected ahead of the2023–24 season:[19]
Selected ahead of the2024–25 season: