Get to Know AFL-CIO’s Affiliates: National Hockey League Players’ Association
This is the next post in our series that will take a deeper look at each of our affiliates. The series will run weekly until we’ve covered all 65 of our affiliates. Next up is the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA).
Name of Union: National Hockey League Players’ Association
Mission: The NHLPA is the exclusive collective bargaining representative of National Hockey League (NHL) players, negotiating the terms and conditions of their employment and ensuring that those rights are protected. The union also provides players with programs and resources to protect their health and safety, enhance their lives off the ice and foster opportunities for them to drive the growth of the game.
Current Leadership of Union: The NHLPA is led by Executive Director Marty Walsh, who works closely with the union’s executive board.
Walsh is a lifelong advocate for workers with decades of experience, including serving as the U.S. secretary of labor under former President Joe Biden and as the mayor of Boston. He started in the labor movement by following in his father’s footsteps as a union construction worker, became president of Laborers (LIUNA) Local 223 in Boston and then served as head of the Greater Boston Building Trades Council, which represents roughly 35,000 blue-collar workers on major construction projects across the region. In 1997, Walsh was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, where he spent 16 years fighting for workers’ rights and good jobs.
The NHLPA executive board is made up of one player representative and one alternate from each of the 32 clubs. Elected by their teammates, these players shape policy, guide union strategy and protect the collective interests of NHL players across the league. See the full list of executive board members.
Current Number of Members: 700+
Members Work as: Professional hockey players
Industries Represented: Men’s professional hockey
History: The precursor to the NHLPA was established on February 11, 1957, when Ted Lindsay led a group of players in forming the original players’ association. While that initial step did not hold, it laid the groundwork for player representatives from the original six teams to reform the NHLPA as a labor organization in June 1967. Since that time, the NHLPA has continuously served as the exclusive collective bargaining representative of NHL players.
Over its more than five decades of service to its members, the NHLPA has supported players through numerous achievements. These included, among many others, the implementation of salary disclosure in January 1990, which became a key factor in creating a more competitive market and driving salary increases; the first ever NHLPA-organized strike in April 1992, which led to the players taking greater control over their name, image and likeness rights as well as increased playoff bonuses and improvements to free agency and arbitration; the creation of the inaugural World Cup of Hockey in 1996; the 1997 implementation of the Hockey Agent Certification Program, which requires that agents meet certain requirements and follow specified regulations.
Current Campaigns/Community Efforts: The NHLPA supports several charitable and community programs on behalf of its members, including the Hockey Fights Cancer initiative and the NHLPA Goals & Dreams fund. Hockey Fights Cancer, jointly launched by the NHLPA and NHL in 1998, raises money and awareness for cancer research and care through various fundraising efforts and community events. The initiative has raised more than $44 million since its inception to fund lifesaving research and support cancer patients and their families.
Launched in 1999, the NHLPA Goals & Dreams fund provides hockey equipment to children in need, enabling them to participate in the sport and develop hockey and life skills. In 2024, the fund celebrated its 25th anniversary, having provided more than $27 million in equipment donations and supporting the hockey ambitions of thousands of children across 45 countries.
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