BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WAND) — The ECHL will resume its hockey season Tuesday night after a new collective bargaining agreement was ratified by the league and the Professional Hockey Players' Association.
This comes after the agreement between the league and the union was reached Saturday. Hockey players went on strike Friday due to ongoing labor negotiations.
“This new agreement ratified by both the ECHL and the Professional Hockey Players’ Association significantly increases player compensation, improves health and safety and delivers on new initiatives that are responsive to our players' needs, while supporting our league’s continued growth and ability to put an entertaining and accessible product on the ice for our fans and the communities we serve,” said ECHL Commissioner, Ryan Crelin.
The ECHL is a minor professional hockey league made up of nearly 30 teams across the U.S. and Canada, including the Bloomington Bison who expanded into the league in 2024. The league is a farm system to the AHL and NHL with many ECHL teams having direct affiliations with the two higher leagues.
The Professional Hockey Players' Association, which represents hockey players in the AHL and ECHL, first served a strike notice on Monday, December 22.
The PHPA said the ECHL had taken part in "unfair labor practices" and the union and its players were taking steps to "protect the integrity of the bargaining process," the union said in a statement.
Collective bargaining agreement talks started in January, but the union said ECHL officials recently contacted players directly. The ECHL said its conduct was lawful and appropriate.
The Bison's Friday night game at Iowa was canceled because of the strike. The team announced early Saturday that their games against the Iowa Heartlanders on Saturday, December 27 and Sunday, December 28 were postponed.
Bloomington is currently in third place in the Western Conference Central Division.
The Bison return to action on Wednesday, January 7.
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