Get to Know AFL-CIO's Affiliates: Professional Women’s Hockey League Players Association

This is the next post in our series that will take a deeper look at each of our affiliates. The series will run weekly until we’ve covered all 65 of our affiliates. Next up is the Professional Women’s Hockey League Players Association (PWHLPA).

Name of Union: Professional Women’s Hockey League Players Association

Mission: The PWHLPA strives to protect the rights and well-being of all PWHL players, on and off the ice. Led by the collective voice of the players and their interests, the union is committed to the advancement of the league and the opportunities it creates. Together the players aim to leave the game better than they found it for future generations.

Current Leadership of Union: Laura Stacey serves as president, Lee Stecklein serves as vice president, Savannah Harmon serves as treasurer, and Hayleigh Cudmore serves as secretary. Malaika Underwood serves as executive director. Each team elects a player representative.

Current Number of Members: 184 from the United States, Canada and Europe

Members Work As: Professional hockey players

Industries Represented: Professional sports

History: In 2019, players walked away from existing professional leagues and formed the precursor to their current union. Under the umbrella of that initial association, those players trained and organized their own competitions independently for multiple years. As part of that effort, they advocated for a viable, professional league with proper investment, resources, infrastructure and labor standards. They were not simply asking for opportunity. They were demanding sustainability and dignity. When the PWHLPA was ultimately established in 2023, the players brought with them years of collective action experience. They understood that if the PWHL was going to be a success, their voice must always be heard.

Before the first puck ever dropped, the players organized the PWHLPA and they negotiated and ratified a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), making the PWHL the first professional women’s sports league in North America to have a CBA in place before its inaugural game.

Current Campaigns/Community Efforts: The PWHLPA works to strengthen the future of professional women’s hockey through player advocacy, education and leadership. Current efforts include supporting professional standards across the league, certifying and regulating contract and marketing agents who work with PWHL players, and helping ensure players are equipped to make an impact both within their communities and across the sport.

Learn More: Website, Facebook, Instagram, X

Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 04/06/2026 - 12:31

Service & Solidarity Spotlight: University of Michigan Student Research Assistants Win Union Election

Working people across the United States regularly step up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.

On Monday, graduate student research assistants (GSRAs) at the University of Michigan voted to join the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO), AFT Local 3550.

In 1981, GSRAs were barred from organizing after the Michigan Employment Relations Commission ruled that they were not employees under the Public Employment Relations Act. However, that decision was reversed in 2023, restoring their collective bargaining rights. This victory was a product of decades of campus organizing and now adds more than 2,000 additional members to the GEO bargaining unit.

“No matter what job title graduate students hold, we face the same pay, same healthcare, same advisors, and same workplace issues,” said Kevin Zheng, a Ph.D. student in the School of Information. “Furthermore, each of us switch between these positions each semester: I worked as a Fellow last year, as a Research Assistant this year, and will be working as a Graduate Student Instructor in the fall. It only makes sense for us to be represented and organized together under the same union.”

Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 04/06/2026 - 09:51

Tags: Organizing