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.
November 30 - Angel of the Stockyards is Born
November 29 - The Fight for $15 & A Union
November 28 - Disaster in the Mines
November 27 - Death Trap in Newark
November 26 - The Birth of William Sylvis
November 25 - Chicago Printers Walk Off the Job
November 24 - The Hollywood Ten
November 23 - The Thibodaux Massacre
November 22 - Uprising of the 20,000
November 21 - Autoworkers Join the Postwar Strike Wave
November 20 - Birth of the Time Clock
November 19 - Joe Hill’s Final Words
November 18 - Accident or Murder?
November 17 - Resisting Impressment
November 16 - NFL Players End Strike
November 15 - The IWW is Raided
November 14 - The Origins of CWA
November 13 - The Holland Tunnel Opens
November 12 - Striking Against Privatization
November 11 - Haymarket Martyrs are Executed
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