The Central Hockey League (CHL) was notified on Tuesday, September 30th, 2008 that the Professional Hockey Player Association (PHPA) has declared a strike against the CHL and its Member Clubs effective immediately.
“We are disappointed that the PHPA has taken this step at this point in the negotiations,” said Duane Lewis, CHL Commissioner. “The CHL is and has been negotiating in good faith with the PHPA and have already come to agreement on many issues benefitting the players. Some of which have been instituted already. There are many critical issues to both sides that cannot be negotiated in a short time frame.”
The CHL and PHPA have met four times this summer discussing an initial Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Previous negotiations between the PHPA and similar hockey leagues have taken as much as 15 months to be successfully bargained.
“This is not a quick process,” said Lewis. “We have worked for 16 seasons to build rapport with the players and feel from their accounts in the past that we have been successful in doing this. To the best of the League’s knowledge there has been no vote of the majority of players to authorize a strike. We are confident we will be playing hockey on October 17th.” Further negotiations are being discussed.
Training camp for all CHL teams is set to open on Monday, October 6th.
-CHL-
