Hamilton Labour Council wants NHL to apologize for suspending players 100 years ago

The Hamilton and District Labour Council is hoping to right a century-old grievance between the city it represents and the NHL.

The labour council demanded the NHL apologize on Wednesday for its treatment of players on the now-defunct Hamilton Tigers when they tried to engage in collective action during the 1924-25 season. Anthony Marco, the council’s president, said that when the Tigers went on strike to get better pay, they were engaging in a struggle that resonates to this day.

“We’ve got labour strife happening at a provincial level, at a federal level, at an international level, and this is a good reminder of the fact that 100 years ago, some of the basic things that these players were fighting for still exist today,” said Marco. “It’s a reflection, in my mind, on how gig work is going these days, that people are being expected to work without pay, our people are being expected to work with very little pay.”