USA women's hockey team agree deal over pay dispute to avoid boycott of world championships
Players and USA Hockey announced the deal in a joint statement on Tuesday, just three days before the tournament begins in Plymouth, Michigan
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.USA Hockey and the women's national team have reached a wage agreement to avoid a boycott of the world championships.
Players and USA Hockey announced the deal in a joint statement on Tuesday, just three days before the tournament begins in Plymouth, Michigan. It's a four-year agreement that pays players outside of the six-month Olympic period.
Star forward Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson said that getting a deal done "feels like a weight off our shoulders." Captain Meghan Duggan said players "stood up for what we thought was right and USA Hockey's leadership listened."
USA Hockey executive director Dave Ogrean said he's "relieved" to get a deal done.
After more than a year of negotiations over wages and equitable support, players announced March 15 that they'd boycott the International Ice Hockey Federation Women's World Championship on home ice if significant progress wasn't made toward an agreement. The sides met for 10-plus hours in person last week and continued conversations before striking a deal Tuesday.
Over the course of the public dispute, unions from the NHL, NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball and 16 U.S. senators voiced support for the players. NHL agent Allan Walsh tweeted that men's players were considering boycotting their world championship in solidarity if a deal didn't get done.
It took until almost the last minute, but a deal did get done that includes the formation of a women's high performance advisory group with current and former players — like Hockey Canada has had for some time. The group's goal is to advance girl's and women's hockey programing, marketing, promotion and fundraising to augment existing grassroots programs.
Players are set to travel to Plymouth on Wednesday and open the defense of their gold medal Friday against Canada. The U.S. has won six of the past eight world championships.
AP
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments