ted Posted May 23, 2019 Share Posted May 23, 2019 Quote Canadian soccer players need a unionPosted on May 23, 2019 - Jason Edwards Professional soccer arrived in Halifax last Saturday. The Halifax Wanderers FC defeated Hamilton Forge 2-1 on an exciting second-half goal by Columbian striker Luis Alberto Perea. The Canadian Premier League (CPL) is in its infancy; this was the Wanderers’ second game, their first on the Wanderers’ Grounds. But while fans are enthusiastic about the new league, questions remain. One outstanding question is how the players will articulate their collective voice. Full Article>> I wondered why they didn't have one before the season started. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ansem Posted May 23, 2019 Share Posted May 23, 2019 14 minutes ago, ted said: I wondered why they didn't have one before the season started. Right now, most of them are just happy for the opportunity to play pro and not caring too much about the salary. The most established guys must have been offered something similar to what they used to make. As the league progress, this will happen eventually shamrock, Cheeta and ted 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ted Posted May 23, 2019 Author Share Posted May 23, 2019 In doing some quick checking I found that the MLSPA didn't start until 2003, 7 years after the league kicked off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real Marc Posted May 23, 2019 Share Posted May 23, 2019 The were delayed because they had to wait for Iain Fraser's (former Cdn Nat, by the way) anti-trust lawsuit against the league to finish appeals. Which pretty much killed his career in MLS, in all likelihood. shamrock and ted 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ted Posted May 23, 2019 Author Share Posted May 23, 2019 ^ Right! I'd forgotten about that suit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowsweatygorilla Posted May 23, 2019 Share Posted May 23, 2019 100% agree. I still think the league should be providing a living wage at the minimum level and you'll need a union for that. As a byproduct, it'll also drastically improve the level of players (not that I am complaining) ted 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unnamed Trialist Posted May 23, 2019 Share Posted May 23, 2019 Technically we are not talking about a union. It is simply an association that defends players' interests. Hardly anywhere in the world do they have real power, the salary hierarchies, marketing rationales and player agents empty "unions" of effectivity. Technically players should be a representational voting block for all our soccer association elections, including provincial and CSA. As with clubs, refs, etc. CanadaFan123 and johnyb 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadaFan123 Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 Can a union exist in a league that isn’t single entity? I get that it works in other North American leagues because they are one but in foreign leagues you don’t have unions? There is no collective bargaining agreement so? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 Most North American leagues aren't single entity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadaFan123 Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 1 minute ago, RS said: Most North American leagues aren't single entity. NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, MLS... All have league contracts, players tradeable etc. CPL doesn’t. As far as we know this far.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real Marc Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 I once read a book on unionism in baseball that argued that most pro sports unions, in this day and age, exist to maximize the earning potential of their highest paid players at the expense of those farther down the food chain. Would be interesting to see if that's the case for more minor league unions like the PHPA or, in this case, anything that got organized for the Can PL. BCM 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadaFan123 Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 10 minutes ago, The Real Marc said: I once read a book on unionism in baseball that argued that most pro sports unions, in this day and age, exist to maximize the earning potential of their highest paid players at the expense of those farther down the food chain. Would be interesting to see if that's the case for more minor league unions like the PHPA or, in this case, anything that got organized for the Can PL. It absolutely would be. Even more so in CPL because half these guys wouldn’t be in the game at all if not for CPL. Those guys would be the ones to be let go and the next round of CIS, L1O etc. players scooped up in their place. Even if there was a CBA they could strike on they would be replaced in the blink of an eye and back to playing amateur soccer. BCM 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCM Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 49 minutes ago, CanadaFan123 said: Even if there was a CBA they could strike on they would be replaced in the blink of an eye and back to playing amateur soccer. Which is no less than they would deserve. At this point in time, the majority of our players aren't here because they chose us over other competitive offers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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