A collective agreement , collective labour agreement ( CLA ) or collective bargaining agreement ( CBA ) is a written contract negotiated through collective bargaining for employees by one or more trade unions with the management of a company (or with an employers' association ) that regulates the terms and conditions of employees at work. This includes regulating the wages, benefits, and duties of the employees and the duties and responsibilities of the employer or employers and often includes rules for a dispute resolution process.
48-846: The Wheeling Nailers are a professional ECHL ice hockey team based in Wheeling, West Virginia . They are the ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League . The Nailers are the oldest surviving minor league franchise below the level of the American Hockey League , with unbroken continuity of franchise and never having missed
96-512: A minimum wage . Furthermore, a national income policy agreement is often, but not always reached, which includes all trade unions , employers’ associations , and the Finnish government. Collective agreements in Germany are legally binding. Germans pride themselves in a supposedly more cooperative spirit in industrial relations when compared to other countries, for example when contrasted to
144-472: A best-of-seven format. The alignment changed back to four divisions for the 2016–17 season , but the playoffs kept the divisional format. The top four teams in each division qualify for the playoffs and play in the division for the first two rounds. After the division finals, the winners then play the conference finals and followed by the Kelly Cup finals. In celebration of the league's 20th year of play,
192-1081: A club in either the ECHL or the AHL. Additionally, the league's players are represented by the Professional Hockey Players' Association (PHPA) in negotiations with the ECHL itself. At least 739 players have played at least one game in the NHL after appearing in the ECHL. As of the 2024–25 season , 29 of the 32 NHL teams held affiliations with an ECHL team with only the Carolina Hurricanes , Columbus Blue Jackets , and Ottawa Senators having no such franchise affiliations. NHL teams sometimes lend contracted players to ECHL teams with whom they have no affiliation agreements for development and increased playing time. The league's regular season typically begins in October and ends in April, followed by
240-603: A great season making it to the second round of the playoffs losing to Toledo in the final second of the final game. In August 2011, the Nailers moved to the Eastern Conference's Atlantic Division as part of the league realignment for the 2011–12 season . The Chicago Express took the North Division spot vacated by the Nailers. In June 2014 the Nailers returned to the North Division after the ECHL eliminated
288-811: A season of play. The Nailers began play in 1981 in the Atlantic Coast Hockey League as the Carolina Thunderbirds based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina . The Thunderbirds won four consecutive regular season titles and were three-time Bob Payne Trophy winners as league champions. In 1987, the ACHL folded and the team joined the All-American Hockey League for the 1987–88 season. The Thunderbirds, Virginia Lancers , and Johnstown Chiefs then became
336-426: A union member. For this condition to apply, half of the workforce in that sector needs to be union members, thus supporting the agreement. Workers are not forced to join a union in a specific workplace . Nevertheless, with 70% average unionization, most economic sectors are under a collective labour agreement. An agreement does not prohibit higher wages and better benefits, but establishes a legal minimum, similarly to
384-506: Is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The league serves as a farm system to the AHL and the National Hockey League (NHL). The ECHL and the AHL are the only minor leagues recognized by the collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA), meaning any player signed to an entry-level NHL contract and designated for assignment must report to
432-538: Is now contained in the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 s.179, whereby in the United Kingdom collective agreements are conclusively deemed to be not legally binding. This presumption may be rebutted when the agreement is in writing and contains an explicit provision asserting that it should be legally enforceable. Although the collective agreement itself is not enforceable, many of
480-425: The 2015–16 season , the playoffs changed once again to a six-division format. At the end of the regular season, the top team in each division qualified for the playoffs and be seeded either 1, 2, or 3 based on the highest point total earned in the season. Then the five non-division winning teams with the highest point totals in each conference qualified for the playoffs and be seeded 4 through 8. All four rounds will be
528-463: The 2025–26 ECHL season . Alignment, affiliations, and locations for the 2024–25 season . Representatives from all potential expansion franchises, markets that have been granted expansion franchises and franchises that have suspended operations must attend the league's annual Board of Governors Meeting between seasons and provide progress reports on their situations in order to keep their ECHL franchise rights. For dormant and existing franchises,
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#1732779684517576-568: The Albany River Rats history following the club's move to Charlotte following the 2009–10 season and assumed the Checkers identity . In each of these cases, the ECHL franchise was relinquished to the league by its respective ownership group. In 2015, the three California franchises ( Bakersfield Condors , Ontario Reign , and Stockton Thunder ) were displaced by the formation of an AHL Pacific Division. Each ECHL franchise involved in
624-940: The Anchorage/Alaska Aces , the Bakersfield Condors , the Fresno Falcons , the Idaho Steelheads , the Las Vegas Wranglers , the Long Beach Ice Dogs and the San Diego Gulls as well as from potential teams in Ontario, California , and Reno, Nevada . Alaska, Bakersfield, Fresno, Idaho, Las Vegas, Long Beach and San Diego began play in the 2003–04 season as expansion teams. In a change reflective of
672-769: The Bloomington Bison in Bloomington, IL. The Knight Monsters are planned to play in the Mountain division, with the Bison planned to compete in the Central division. These additions were intended to bring the ECHL to 30 teams before the Newfoundland Growlers folded late in the 2023–24 ECHL season , but plans are still there to expand the league to 32 in the future to match the number of teams in
720-660: The Carolina Monarchs in 1995 . The Hampton Roads Admirals were the second, giving way to the Norfolk Admirals in 2000 . The Peoria Rivermen were the third. In their case, the replacement franchise retained the Worcester IceCats history but assumed the Rivermen identity for their first AHL season of 2005–06 . The Charlotte Checkers were the fourth, yielding to a franchise that retained
768-840: The Central Hockey League ) the league played the 2012–13 season with 23 teams. That number dropped to 22 for the 2013–14 season with the folding of the Trenton Titans and subsequently fell to 21 with the mid-season folding of the San Francisco Bulls on January 27, 2014. On October 7, 2014, the ECHL announced that the seven remaining active members of the Central Hockey League (the Allen Americans , Brampton Beast , Quad City Mallards , Missouri Mavericks , Rapid City Rush , Tulsa Oilers and Wichita Thunder ) would be admitted as new members for
816-895: The Iowa Heartlanders and the Trois-Rivières Lions , with Iowa going into the Central Division and Trois-Rivières going into the North. This brought the league up to 27 teams. The league added the Savannah Ghost Pirates , bringing the league to 28 teams, and balancing the divisions for the 2022–23 season . There are two expansion teams to be added for the 2024–25 season ; the Tahoe Knight Monsters in Stateline, NV, and
864-549: The Italian banking association (ABI) was the first association to decide to cancel the national collective labor agreement of the banking sector and to adopt a separate negotiation with the trade union organizations. In the subsequent contractual renewals of 2018 and 2022, the trade unions and bank's associations agreed on the right of withdrawal from the national collective labor agreement for both parties. Both employers'associations and trade unions of wage worker|wage workers of
912-751: The Kelly Cup playoffs. The most recent playoff champions are the Florida Everblades in 2024 . The league, which combined teams from the defunct Atlantic Coast Hockey League (ACHL) and All-American Hockey League (AAHL), began to play as the East Coast Hockey League in 1988 with five teams – the (Winston-Salem, North) Carolina Thunderbirds (now the Wheeling Nailers ); the Erie Panthers (folded in 2011 as
960-501: The NHL and the AHL per ECHL Commissioner Ryan Crelin. On April 2, 2024, the league announced that the Newfoundland Growlers ' membership had been terminated due to failure to fulfill its obligations under league bylaws, bringing the league down to 29 teams and forcing the Wheeling Nailers to move to the North Division. On October 18, 2024, the league announced a new expansion team for Greensboro, North Carolina set to begin play for
1008-651: The Norfolk Admirals , Manchester Monarchs , and Adirondack Thunder , respectively. By the 2018–19 season , the ECHL lost both the Quad City Mallards and Manchester Monarchs by folding, and the ECHL kept the Quad City Mallards name as a trademark. But the East Coast Hockey League expanded into other markets recently vacated by the AHL in the Maine Mariners , Newfoundland Growlers , and Worcester Railers . There were two expansion teams added in 2021–22 ,
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#17327796845171056-957: The Victoria Salmon Kings ); the Johnstown Chiefs (now the Greenville Swamp Rabbits ); the Knoxville Cherokees (ceased operations as the Pee Dee Pride in 2005; folded in 2009 following failed relocation efforts); and the Virginia Lancers (now the Utah Grizzlies ). In 2003, the West Coast Hockey League ceased operations, and the ECHL board of governors approved membership applications from
1104-493: The Western Hockey League , the team was renamed Nailers for the 1996–97 season when the franchise held a contest open to local fans, which was won by C. J. Wickham of Steubenville, Ohio. The name "Nailers" was chosen for the city's long history of nail manufacturing. For the 2012–13 season, the Nailers dropped the red-black-gold scheme they had used for nearly two decades in favor of a black-and-gold palette used by
1152-652: The 2011–2012 season. List of Wheeling Nailers/Thunderbirds alumni who played more than 25 games in Wheeling and 25 or more games in the National Hockey League . East Coast Hockey League The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League ) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey , with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it
1200-471: The 2014–15 season. The addition of the former CHL teams plus the expansion Indy Fuel raised the number of teams to 28 and placed a team in Canada for the first time since 2011. Before the 2015–16 season , the AHL's creation of a Pacific Division led the three California ECHL teams to relocate to former AHL cities with the Bakersfield Condors , Ontario Reign , and Stockton Thunder relocating to become
1248-846: The Atlantic Division in its realignment for the 2014–15 season . On March 29, 2012, the ECHL announced that ownership of the Nailers would be transferred from the Brooks-owned Nailers Hockey LLC to the Hockey Club of the Ohio Valley, a joint venture of the Ohio Valley Industrial & Business Development Corporation, and the Wheeling Amateur Hockey Association, to take effect at the conclusion of
1296-525: The Board of Governors changed the Western Conference seeding such that eight teams qualify: two division winners and the next six teams in the conference. This eliminated the Western Conference first-round bye. Similar to the National Hockey League (NHL) at the time, the division winners were seeded as the top three seeds in the Eastern Conference and the top two seeds in the Western Conference;
1344-414: The Board of Governors votes whether or not to extend a franchise's league license until the next Board of Governors Meeting. At the 2012 Board of Governors meeting, the Board elected to limit the league to 26 teams, with an emphasis on adding teams to the Western Conference. However, it was decided at the 2015 Board of Governors meeting that the cap should be expanded to 30 teams, hoping to eventually match
1392-573: The ECHL Board of Governors created the ECHL Hall of Fame in 2008, to recognize the achievements of players, coaches, and personnel who dedicated their careers to the league. Collective bargaining agreement In Finland , collective labour agreements are universally valid. This means that a collective agreement in an economic sector becomes a universally applicable legal minimum for any individual's employment contract, whether or not they are
1440-409: The NHL and AHL's (then) 30-team totals. In 2023, ECHL commissioner Ryan Crelin commented that the eventual goal was to match the AHL and NHL expansion to 32 teams. Since starting with five franchises in its inaugural season, the ECHL has had dozens of franchises join and leave the league. Typically, these teams fold or relocate due to operation issues or financial losses. The Johnstown Chiefs became
1488-818: The Penguins. The team plays at the WesBanco Arena (formerly the Wheeling Civic Center), and used the Cambria County War Memorial Arena in Johnstown, Pennsylvania as an alternative venue during the 2010–2011 and 2011-2012 seasons. After missing the playoffs for five straight seasons, they had a 106-point season in 2003–04. They were defeated by the Reading Royals in 5 games, 3–2. In season 2005–06 they had
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1536-542: The Storm in order to demolish their present arena and construct a new one in downtown Toledo. The Mississippi Sea Wolves resumed play for the 2007–08 season, while the Toledo Walleye resumed play in their new arena for the 2009–10 season. Seven former ECHL franchises have been directly replaced in their respective markets by American Hockey League franchises. The Greensboro Monarchs were the first, being replaced by
1584-656: The basis for the East Coast Hockey League, now known as the ECHL . The Thunderbirds lost the first ECHL playoff championship final to the Toledo Storm . The team was renamed Winston-Salem Thunderbirds in 1990 and moved to Wheeling to become the Wheeling Thunderbirds in 1992 under the leadership of president and co-owner Ed Broyhill. After a trademark dispute with the Seattle Thunderbirds of
1632-526: The company will be able to sack the complainants, normally with impunity. The British law reflects the historic adversarial nature of UK industrial relations. Also, there is a background fear by employees that if their trade union sued for breach of a collective agreement, the union could become bankrupt, leaving employees without representation in collective bargaining. This unfortunate situation may be slowly changing, partly through EU influences. Japanese and Chinese firms that have UK factories (particularly in
1680-402: The conference winner faced the eighth seed, second faces seventh, third faces sixth and fourth faces fifth in the conference quarterfinal round. The winner of the 1st/8th series played the winner of the 4th/5th series while the 2nd/7th winner played against the 3rd/6th winner in the conference semifinal series. The Board of Governors also elected to change the playoff format such that all rounds of
1728-476: The courts once held that collective agreements were not binding. Then, the Industrial Relations Act 1971 , introduced by Robert Carr (Employment Minister in Edward Heath 's cabinet), provided that collective agreements were binding unless a written contract clause declared otherwise. After the demise of the Heath government, the law was reversed to reflect the tradition in British industrial relations policy of legal abstentionism from workplace disputes. The law
1776-446: The first time in the history of Italian industrial relations, in December 2010, Marchionne decided to unilaterally let the Fiat group out of Confindustria and Federmeccanica. the Fiat group decided to start separate negotiations with some trade union organizations to define a specific company contract for the automotive sector in force within its plants, as an exception to and in lieu of the national collective labor contract. In 2013
1824-497: The folding of the Victoria Salmon Kings subsequent to the 2010–11 season , but increased to 20 teams for the 2011–12 season with the addition of the expansion franchise Chicago Express and the Colorado Eagles who previously played in the Central Hockey League . With the folding of the Chicago Express at the conclusion of the 2011–12 season and the announcement of expansion franchises in Orlando , San Francisco , Evansville , and Fort Wayne (both in Indiana and both from
1872-414: The historically more adversarial nature of industrial relations in the United Kingdom as described below. German workers by law have a right to representation on company boards. Together, management and workers are considered "social partners". Like in Finland, collective labour agreement determinate a universal applicabile legal minimum wage, which is universally valid (in Latin : erga omnes ), whether
1920-502: The last remaining founding franchise of the East Coast Hockey League to remain in its original city until it relocated to Greenville, South Carolina, following the completion of the 2009–10 season . While the ECHL has stated in recent years they would not grant voluntary suspensions of franchises for more than one year, both the Toledo Storm (now the Toledo Walleye ) and Mississippi Sea Wolves (now defunct) were granted two-year suspensions—the Sea Wolves because of Hurricane Katrina and
1968-409: The league introduced the ECHL toolbar for internet browsers which gave users short cut access to statistics, scores, transactions, and news updates. At the annual ECHL Board of Governors meeting on June 15, 2010, in Henderson, Nevada, the Board of Governors approved changes to the names of the conferences and divisions. The former American Conference (comprising eleven East Coast and Midwest teams)
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2016-632: The league's now-nationwide presence, the East Coast Hockey League shortened its name to the orphan initialism ECHL on May 19, 2003. The ECHL reached its largest size to date (31 teams) that season before being reduced to 28 teams for the 2004–05 season . The ECHL has attempted to be more tech-friendly to its fans. Some improvements on the league's website have included a new schedule and statistics engine powered by League Stat, Inc. (introduced in 2006 ), internet radio coverage for most teams, and pay-per view broadcasting of ECHL games through B2 Networks (a subsidiary of America One Broadcasting ). In 2008,
2064-407: The playoffs are now best of seven series. For 2012–13, the Conference Finals and Kelly Cup Finals will use a two-referee system. Because of the late addition of the CHL teams for the 2014–15 season and its subsequent conference alignment, the top four teams in each division qualified for the playoffs and the first two playoff rounds were played within the divisions. For the realignment prior to
2112-689: The public and private sectors have the right to unilaterally withdraw from the contract. In Sweden about 90 per cent of all employees are covered by collective agreements, in the private sector 83 per cent (2017). Collective agreements usually contain provisions concerning minimum wages. Sweden does not have statutory regulation of minimum wages or legislation on extension of collective agreements to unorganized employers. Non-organized employers can sign substitute agreements directly with trade unions, but many do not. The Swedish model of self-regulation applies only to workplaces and employees covered by collective agreements. At common law , Ford v A.U.E.F. [1969],
2160-400: The terms negotiated will relate to pay, conditions, holidays, pensions and so on. These terms will be incorporated into an employee's contract of employment (whether or not the employee is a union member); and the contract of employment is, of course, enforceable. If the new terms are unacceptable to any individuals, they can object to his employer; but if the majority of workers have acquiesced,
2208-428: The territorial shift was either owned or purchased by their NHL affiliate prior to being relocated. Current member Former member Future member Opted out of season due to COVID-19 pandemic For the 2012–13 season , eight teams still qualify in the Eastern Conference: the three division winners plus the next five teams in the conference. With the addition of the expansion franchise in San Francisco ,
2256-455: The worker is a member of a trade union or not. The introduction of collective labour agreement in Italy took place during the fascist period with the promulgation of the Labour Charter of 1927 . In 1959, Vigorelli-type laws transferred the national collective labor agreements in force at the time into an ordinary law in such a way as to make the set of economic and regulatory rights established in these agreements universal and binding. For
2304-412: Was renamed the Eastern Conference, while the National Conference (consisting of 8 West Coast teams, including the league's only Canadian team at the time) was re-designated the Western Conference. Within the Eastern Conference, the East Division was renamed the Atlantic Division, and the Western Conference's former West Division was dubbed the Mountain Division. The league lost its only Canadian team with
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