On a special episode of Fair Weather Podcast, Alan, Marisa, and Chris sit down with Connor Tobin from the USL Player’s Association. The Player’s Association has been the sole representative of the USL players. They were voluntarily recognized by the USL in 2018. First Connor gives us a back ground of how the PA started. He shares some early successes in building the union from scratch. He also shares a couple of the hurdles they had to overcome. Next, Connor describes how they build consensus between clubs. Each club has a large variety of issues and age ranges, so finding those were a little tricky.

Connor also described where the PA and the league have worked well. He talks about how the league voluntarily recognizing the union was a big step. He briefly talked about USL League 1 and how the USLPA is working with those players and owners as well.

After that, the discussion went into player salaries. The team asked him about how educational this has been for fans of the USL. Contracts and salaries are usually not public information, so this is a rare glimpse into the financials of the league.

The conversation wrapped up with a discussion about what supporters can do to help. Connor spoke about how teams are such a big part of each community. He wants the PA to represent that as well. He was very thankful for the ongoing support.

We want to thank not just Connor Tobin for stopping by, but for all of the union members who are working hard to create this PA and Collective Bargaining Agreement from scratch. They are a volunteer organization helping soccer players have a better future. They are also helping us build a better league. Fair Weather Podcast proudly will #StandWithThePlayers.

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Fair Weather Podcast is a weekly podcast that covers the ins and outs of San Diego Loyal Soccer Club in the USL Championship. The FWP is part of The Beautiful Game Network of podcasts and written work. Go and check out all of the great content by clicking the link.

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