----- Original Message -----
From: "Pamela Sweeney" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 30, 2004 10:01 AM
Subject: Re: Zach Parise Inks a Deal with the Devil(s)


> J Michael Neal writes:
>
> > There is a real possibility that
> > the lockout could wipe out all of next year.  If that happens, they have
not
> > only lost an entire year of playing time at a crucial time in their
> > development, but quite possibly watched a large chunk of that big
contract
> > vanish, depending upon how the new CBA deals with signed contracts.
>
>
> I'm not clear on how this would affect the minor leagues, but I have the
impression that they would still be playing.   How would it work if he had a
contract that paid him the same salary in either the minors or the NHL?

It's taken me a while to get back on this, since my computer was in the
shop.

This is all based upon my knowledge of how the baseball union works, but I
suspect that the labor laws behind it work the same way.  And, of course,
IANAL.  In baseball, any player that was part of the MLBPA (which is any
player on a 40-man roster) was out on strike, and could not play minor
league ball.  Because of baseball's anti-trust exemption, anyone else in the
minor leagues could be under contract with the major league club and not be
a part of the union.  (The labor law implications of all of this are pretty
complicated, but that's the short answer.)

Hockey does not have the anti-trust exemption, so it is in a different
position.  This is the definition of a "player" in the CBA (Article 1):

""Player" or "player" means a hockey player who is party
to a Player Contract, any Rookie, Restricted Free Agent and
Unrestricted Free Agent, a player who having been party to a
Player Contract has not yet achieved the experience level or age
required to attain the status of a Restricted Free Agent or an
Unrestricted Free Agent, and any entity or person owned by
(wholly or partly), controlled by, affiliated with, or related to
such hockey player."

From Article 4, Union Security and Check-Off:

"4.1. Membership.  Every player has the option of joining or not
joining the Association; provided, however, that as a condition
of employment for the duration of this Agreement and wherever and
whenever legal:"

Hence, the act of signing a contract makes one eligible for membership,
which means that the player is considered part of the bargaining unit, which
means that they are subject to the strike whether they are in the AHL or the
NHL.  Since AHL teams have affiliations with NHL clubs, they are properly
considered the agents of the parent club, so playing for the affiliate would
constitute crossing the picket line.  For all I know, Zach Parise is willing
to do that, but I wouldn't recommend taking the ice against, say, Donald
Brashear with the designation of "scab".

The text of the CBA can be found at:

http://letsgopens.com/nhl_cba.php

J. Michael Neal