Biggest US Pro Women’s Sports Unions Are Working Together To Achieve Success And Progress
The unions for the National Women’s Soccer League and Women’s National Basketball Association are teaming up to create collective action to find success. Back in July, the WNBA participants in the All-Star Game all wore shirts reading “Pay You What You Owe Us,” and now that message is continuing to be amplified through collaborative efforts between the two unions.
“When you’re fighting for something historic, something that has never been done before, it cannot happen in a vacuum,” said Erin D Drake, the WNBPA’s senior advisor and legal counsel who was also credited for the shirt campaign, according to the Guardian.
The shirts were later made available online for purchase, and quickly after the WNBPA’s soccer counterparts were participating in the action.
“Most of our staff had already gone on the website and purchased the shirts themselves,” said Tori Huster, the deputy executive director of the National Women’s Soccer League Players’ Association (NWSLPA).
The NWSLPA amplified images of the players who got the shirts. Hopkins stated that this was a major moment for women athletes all throughout the United States.
“It’s not just female athletes in the W that are experiencing this. It’s a message to send for virtually every female athlete across the United States in whatever league it may be that we deserve pay.”
“We’re always in constant support of each other. Wearing the t-shirts was just an expression of that relationship,” Hopkins said.
The WNBPA was founded in 1998 and set a major precedent for advocacy in women’s sports. WNBA players have also spoken out against racist systems, police violence, discrimination against the LGBT+ community, and many other polarizing social issues. In many ways, they set the tone for the NWSLPA, which was founded in 2017, to be the same force.
“Their collective action, their advocacy, for sure has been a shining example of what we aspire to be,” Huster said.
“When the NWSLPA was in its infancy, its leaders were like, Googling what labor unions were,” said Huster.
Meghann Burke is the organization’s executive director, and was the only full-time staff member at the beginning. Her relationship with her WNBPA counterpart Terri Carmichael Jackson was the main connector between the two unions.
“There’s probably not a month that goes by without Erin and I communicating about something,” Huster said.
“Over time, as our union has grown in strength, that’s become a relationship of reciprocity and mutuality,” Burke said.
“Terri was really important to us in course-correcting the league and creating a new standard for player safety in the NWSL,” said Burke.
“It’s a tactic to be divided. It’s a tactic to feel in isolation when you are trying to assert your value and your worth. Both the WNBPA and NWSLPA reject that tactic.” Drake said. “Our orientation to the issues that affect workers is certainly grounded in our experience as women,” said Burke.
Both unions have fought for ensuring protections for mothers, overcoming underinvestment when compared to the male leagues, and securing proper healthy working environments.
“Anytime you have an emerging league, a newer league, it’s more challenging, and by definition, the union is going to have typically less strength and a more difficult time. [That] is why it’s especially important now for these two unions to collaborate and to assist each other,” said Nellie Drew, a professor in sports law at the University at Buffalo School of Law.
The two unions recently issued a joint statement which opposes federal immigration raids after WNBPA members requested their union speak out.
“All of our statements – all of them – come from our player leadership. It was clear through conversations that NWSLPA members were having similar observations,” Drake said.
The WNBPA then invited the NWSLPA to be a part of the statement, and they immediately accepted. Both unions have become powerhouses independently, and together, and are working on the greater purpose of getting better working conditions while using their platforms to speak up on political issues.
“We can see the NWSLPA standing with the WNBPA during this contract fight because they know what it means to fight for respect on the job, for fair pay, and for a share in the massive profit their labor generates,” said Liz Shuler, the president of the AFL-CIO.
The AFL-CIO Sports Council is a group of players’ unions that is within the largest federation of labor unions in the United States.
“We’ve always been here, and now everyone’s kind of just catching on, and we’re not just gonna be grateful for the quote unquote momentum, but continuing to build off of us to work towards what we know we deserve and have always deserved,” Hopkins stated.
“It’s just now there’s eyes on us – about damn time.”
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
