Players take step to go to court
As expected, the NHL Players' Association voted overwhelming in favor of asking its executive board to file a "disclaimer of interest," a move that would disband the union and enable it to file an anti-trust lawsuit that claims the league's lockout is illegal.
Players take step to go to court
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
As expected, the NHL Players’ Association voted overwhelming in favor of asking its executive board to file a “disclaimer of interest,” a move that would disband the union and enable it to file an anti-trust lawsuit that claims the league’s lockout is illegal.
The players’ executive board has until Jan. 2 to file the claim.
Maybe it will be filed. Or maybe the vote, which started Sunday and ended Friday, was just an attempt to back the NHL into a negotiating corner.
Friday was the 97th day of the lockout, and the sides haven’t met in nine days.
That doesn’t mean the NHL hasn’t been busy. In a preemptive strike last week, it filed a complaint in federal court, asking that the lockout be declared legal. The league also filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board.
The players’ union has until Jan. 7 to respond to the complaint, which was filed in New York.
The league has canceled nearly 51 percent of the season, wiping out games though Jan. 14. The NHL had its entire season canceled by a labor dispute in 2004-05.
During last year’s NBA lockout, players filed a disclaimer of interest but had a new collective bargaining agreement 12 days later, and the union quickly reformed.
NHL owners want a 10-year CBA and a five-year maximum on individual contracts _ seven years if a team re-signs its own player. The players want an eight-year CBA and eight-year maximums on player pacts.
There are also issues over the salary-cap ceiling and whether to include amnesty buyouts, which would free teams from counting a player’s salary (read: a bad signing) against the cap.
Contact Sam Carchidi at scarchidi@phillynews.com. Follow on Twitter @BroadStBull.
All you idiots who think the NHL isn't a 'major' sport might be surprised to learn that it generates 5x the revenue of NASCAR. And it's actually not that far behind the NBA.— JohnnyL- Regardless of your stance on this mess, the fact is that this outcome was assured when Fehr was selected as the union rep. I'm not an apologist for the owners or Bettman, but I have no time for Fehr. His track record speaks for itself (see baseball strikes). His tactics are underhanded and he is devoid of scruples. Marvin Miller was willing to compromise and seek fair resolution. With Fehr, it's all about him. Look no further for your villain.
Disbanding a union that has been negotiating for over a year is nothing more than a sleazy, deceitful piece of scumbag legal trickery - the kind of thing that only the most blind and partisan union lover could defend.
Wait for it ...
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- Can any of the Flyers hit right-handed and play outfield for the Phillies next April?— eman
- So can the Flyers sign everybody?
— ACBaughman 
The season is over. They already lost thousands of fans like myself. If they keep it up they soon will be relegated to a second tier sports league.- a sam carchidi article and he's not predicting a resolution...— Shemp Howard
- NHL has been on the decline for over a decade. Crosby is not Gretzky. Ovechkin is not Lemieux.......etc.......the last strike killed the off the ESPN deal and this one will kill off NBC......for the purist, this may be good news due to possible contraction back to a 16 team league (67 4). When Atlanta (metro area of 5 million plus) transfers to Winnipeg it is not a national sport.— Northcountry
- You obviously have not been following hockey, particularly the current lock-out.
NHL revenue has soared from $2.1 billion in 2005, to $3.3 billion in 2012. How you can opine that the NHL has been in decline for over a decade is a mystery. And your player comparisons pretty much indicate the last time you watched a game.
— backhand - If it was not for the players you would not have a viable league. They deserve just compensation for their services just as players in the NFL and NBA. The owners under Bettman want to force an unfair agreement on the players because they screwed themselves with the last CBA. Both sides are guilty of unfair labor practices under NLRB rules so all their posturing in court will amount to nothing, meanwhile the fans and season ticket holders are being held hostage. This whole situation may end up killing the league. If I was the players I would decertify, sue and start up a new players league in new cities in competition with the current owners.— Chiefmanybrs
- "They deserve just compensation for their services just as players in the NFL and NBA."
I agree.
What is amusing is the number of crackpots who come here to vent their anger by writing that players are overpaid. They know little of what it takes to excel in sports in general, hockey in particular, so what gives them the ability to judge what the work of someone else is worth?
Based on the content of their posts, most of them obviously have low paid, unskilled jobs so they complain about players making more money than they do to make themselves feel better.
Without players there is no game.
— backhand - Unions suck!— Phillip Phan
- You work a 40-hour work-week because of labor unions. You get paid time-and-a-half for overtime because of unions. Eight year-old kids aren't working in coal mines because of unions. There is a middle-class in America because of unions (although the GOP is working hard to eliminate the middle-class).
And if you think for one minute that you would continue to enjoy your current benefits if unions disappeared, think again.
Read a history book to learn what life was like for workers *before* labor unions were formed.
— backhand - Did I just get rerouted to media matters? Labor Unions and Players Unions for millionaire athletes have nothing to do with each other. — cujat13
- He wrote "Unions suck!". That is plural. He didn't state that the NHLPA sucks.
Are you jealous of millionaire athletes?
— backhand - And there goes the season next yer as well— poger67
- If the NHLPA disbands, the league should void all of the player contracts.— Tony DC
- The NHL already voided every player contract, and have asked a Federal judge to sanction that move.
— backhand - I hope the NHL folds.— mrh1955
- ...you hockey morons should turn your backs on the NHL...permanantly...— flank steak
- *yawn*.....wake me when they drop the puck— Frank_Drebin
