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Labor Union

National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA)

Website:

nhlpa.com
Location:

Toronto, ON, Canada
Type:

Labor Union
Founded:

1967
Director:

Marty Walsh

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The National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) is the collective bargaining organization for American professional hockey players in the top division National Hockey League (NHL). Founded in 1967, the association assists its members with salary and working-condition arbitration, as well as grievance resolution and professional development. It also works to popularize hockey around the world and supports NHL player participation in international tournaments, including the Winter Olympics. 1

Since its founding, the NHLPA has seen several major work stoppages. The association called a strike in 1992 over a number of long-time contract issues. The strike concluded after the association and the league settled on an arrangement which included more games during the regular season and larger playoff bonuses for players. Another salary-related strike took place two years later. In 2004, a labor dispute resulted in the entire season being canceled, and a similar incident in 2012 led to nearly half of all games in the season not being played. 2

The NHLPA has promoted a variety of left-wing political and social causes, including the LGBT “Pride” agenda and the anti-law enforcement Black Lives Matter movement. 3 4

Political Activity

The NHLPA has worked to inject left-wing political and social causes into the league’s public relations and internal affairs. In September 2020, following the anti-law enforcement protests and riots of summer 2020, the association announced that it would be incorporating mandatory instruction on left-wing race ideology into player training programs. In addition, the NHLPA has been collaborating with the NHL to feature LGBT “Pride” messaging at games. 5 6

Leadership

Martin “Marty” J. Walsh was identified as the new executive director of the NHLPA in March 2023. Previously, Walsh had held been serving as Secretary of Labor in the cabinet of Joe Biden. As Labor Secretary, he had pushed for expanding the influence of labor unions and for increasing the flow of immigrants into the United States, citing an alleged shortage of workers and claiming that importing immigrants was the solution. Prior to joining the Biden Administration, Walsh spent two terms as the mayor of Boston, Massachusetts. 7 8

While in office, he promoted a number of pro-abortion policies: these included a bill that would have removed the minimum age for girls to get abortions without the approval of a parent or a judge and a dedication of a public park to a doctor who had been convicted for manslaughter in the 1970s for aborting a child by suffocating it in the womb. 9 He also used taxpayer dollars to start a legal assistance program for illegal aliens facing deportation and transferred $3 million from the city’s police department budget during the anti-law enforcement protests and riots of summer 2020. 10 11

Before he became the mayor of Boston, Walsh spent more than a decade as a state representative in the Massachusetts legislature. During that time, he shifted his stance on abortion from personal opposition to public approval. 12 13In addition, Walsh has endorsed limits on Second Amendment rights, touting his state’s restrictive firearm ownership laws as an example for the federal government. 14

Don Fehr was the previous executive director of the NHLPA. He took charge of the association in 2010. The NHLPA announced that it was seeking a replacement for Fehr in April 2022. Several months later, he became involved in an internal investigation related to the handling of a report that a player had been sexually assaulted by a coach in 2010. Statements by the player had raised questions about whether Fehr had been aware of the problem and whether he had responded appropriately. Ultimately, an NHLPA investigation found that Fehr was not at fault. 15

References

  1. “What We Do.” NHLPA. Accessed March 26, 2023. https://www.nhlpa.com/the-pa/what-we-do
  2. [1]“NHL Strike and Lockout History.” ProStockHockey. Accessed March 26, 2023. https://www.prostockhockey.com/hockey-resources/miscellaneous/nhl-strike-and-lockout-history/
  3. “NHL and NHLPA Celebrate Pride Month.” NHLPA. June 1, 2021. Accessed March 26, 2023. https://www.nhlpa.com/news/1-22110/nhl-and-nhlpa-celebrate-pride-month
  4. Stephen Whyno. “NHL unveils series of initiatives aimed to combat racism, accelerate inclusion.” CBC. September 3, 2020. Accessed March 26, 2023. https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/nhl-highlighting-social-issues-initiatives-anti-racism-inclusion-1.5711330
  5. Stephen Whyno. “NHL unveils series of initiatives aimed to combat racism, accelerate inclusion.” CBC. September 3, 2020. Accessed March 26, 2023. https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/nhl-highlighting-social-issues-initiatives-anti-racism-inclusion-1.5711330
  6. “NHL and NHLPA Celebrate Pride Month.” NHLPA. June 1, 2021. Accessed March 26, 2023. https://www.nhlpa.com/news/1-22110/nhl-and-nhlpa-celebrate-pride-month
  7. Lisa Kashinsky et al. “Marty Walsh to depart from Biden Cabinet for job atop hockey players’ union.” Politico. February 7, 2023. Accessed March 26, 2023.

    https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/07/marty-walsh-to-depart-from-biden-cabinet-for-job-atop-hockey-players-union-00081567

  8. Chris Richardson. “Why Marty Walsh’s resignation is a good thing.” The Hill. March 1, 2023. Accessed March 26, 2023. https://thehill.com/opinion/immigration/3878212-why-marty-walshs-resignation-is-a-good-thing/
  9. Matthew McDonald. “Pro-Lifers Outraged Boston Catholic School Is Honoring Pro-Abortion Biden Cabinet Member.” National Catholic Register. March 29, 2022. Accessed March 26, 2023. https://www.ncregister.com/news/pro-lifers-outraged-boston-catholic-school-is-honoring-pro-abortion-biden-cabinet-member
  10. [1]“Standing With Immigrants.” The Committee to Elect Martin J. Walsh. Accessed March 26, 2023. https://www.martywalsh.org/priority/immigration/
  11. Quincy Walters. “Boston Mayor Declares Racism A Public Health Crisis.” National Public Radio. June 12, 2020. Accessed March 26, 2023. https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-protests-for-racial-justice/2020/06/12/876327158/boston-mayor-declares-racism-a-public-health-crisis
  12. Matthew McDonald. “Pro-Lifers Outraged Boston Catholic School Is Honoring Pro-Abortion Biden Cabinet Member.” National Catholic Register. March 29, 2022. Accessed March 26, 2023. https://www.ncregister.com/news/pro-lifers-outraged-boston-catholic-school-is-honoring-pro-abortion-biden-cabinet-member
  13. Laelia Yang. “Marty Walsh – Secretary of Labor: Biography, Personal Life and Career.” KnowInsiders. January 19, 2021. Accessed March 26, 2023. https://knowinsiders.com/who-is-marty-walsh-secretary-of-labor-biography-personal-life-and-career-27431.html
  14. Jennifer Hansler. “Boston mayor on gun violence: ‘There’s something wrong with our system.’” CNN. February 22, 2018. Accessed March 26, 2023.https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/22/politics/marty-walsh-axe-files/index.html
  15. Stephen Whyno. “NHLPA names Labor Secretary Marty Walsh executive director.” AP News. February 16, 2023. Accessed March 26, 2023. https://apnews.com/article/nhl-sports-boston-hockey-marty-walsh-57348f31895e8712fa55ddb4a6598d3d
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National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA)

10 Bay Street, Suite 1200
Toronto, ON
Canada