September 16, 2016
On this day in Labor History the year was 2004.
That was not a good day for hockey fans.
The National Hockey League owners locked out the players.
The owners and players’ union could not come to an agreement on issues including pay, free agency rules and drug testing.
League owners also wanted to implement a salary cap.
The Players’ Association objected.
The first game of the season was supposed to take place on October 13th.
But across the country, the arenas stood silent.
As the impasse dragged on, in February the League announced the season was cancelled.
The Associated Press reported, A hockey season on the brink is now a season gone bust. The NHL canceled what was left of its decimated schedule Wednesday after a round of last-gasp negotiations failed to resolvedifferences over a salary cap -- the flash-point issue that led to a lockout.”
The article continued, “No Stanley Cup champion will be crowned, the first time that's happened since 1919, when the 2-year-old league called off the finals because of a flu epidemic.”
It was the first time that a North American professional sports league lost a full season to a labor dispute.
Some of the players found work in the European leagues at greatly reduced pay.
It is estimated the league lost $2 billion and that the players lost $1 billion in salaries.
The impact of the lock out rippled through restaurants and other businesses that relied on the hockey crowds, causing layoffs for wait staff.
Finally, in July an agreement was reached.
The players gave in to the owners demand for a salary cap.
In 2012 another lockout by management cost NHL players another half of the season.
December 20 - THE UNION IS DISSOLVED!!!
December 19 - Solidarity Gets the Goods!
December 18 - No More Beer
December 17 - Unraveling Anti-Japanese Hysteria
December 16 - No Justice, No Bagels!
December 15 - Troops Put Down the Mother’s March
December 14 - Another Hard Fought Victory
December 13 - The Beginning of the End of Apartheid
December 12 - We Disaffiliate!
December 11 - Right to Work is a Lie!
December 10 - August Spies is Born
December 9 - The Cordiner Doctrine
December 8 - The American Federation of Labor is Founded
December 7 - Strong Arming Goldminers
December 6 - Breaking Through the Racial Divide
December 5 - Striking in Solidarity
December 4 - Organizing to End Slavery
December 3 - Learning & Labor at Oberlin
December 2 - 21st Century Corporate Greed
December 1 - Standing Up for Themselves and Their Patients
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