IT MIGHT seem like a strange thing to most football fans.
Why, they might ask, would highly paid, famous sports stars need a union?
Surely their privileged position means they have bargaining power that other workers can only dream of?
The answer is a complex one but when you look at it closely, AFL players have just as much of a right and can benefit just as much, from representation as anyone else.
This is especially the case for players who are not in the same category as stars Chris Judd or Nick Riewoldt.
Our union is called the AFL Players' Association.
It was established in 1974 with one of its initial bargaining meetings involving player payments for grand finals. Each player received $150 on that one day in September.
Before that, in 1950, the VFL players attempted to form a representative body.
The VFL successfully opposed its registration and the fledgling player's union was disbanded.
In 1980 the VFL withdrew recognition of the organisation.
The players hit back by threatening to strike in a pre-season game between Essendon and Fitzroy.
The VFL halted the proposed strike by agreeing to recognise the association as the negotiating body for all players.
All the hard work done in those early years sees today's players benefit with a fairer share of the overall football "pie".
A player retirement fund, administered by the AFLPA, pays out $14,000 a year to primary-listed players. This is received a year after players hang up their boots.
Many footballers are paid a lot of money, I hear you say. This is true.
But behind the glamour and the adoration are a lot of hard working guys who do not earn as much as you might think.
And what is often forgotten is that it is not like most jobs, where you have a career that spans more than 40 years.
For all the hard work, public scrutiny, injuries and dedication, the average AFL career only lasts for six years.
The AFLPA is funded by the players to, among other things, make sure that all players - from the superstars to the rookies on $35,000 a year - are receiving their fair share of the money that is generated out of their efforts.
It also does things like run programs to ensure that players have careers outside of footy once they finish playing at the elite level. It helps give us the skills to be successful once footy is over.
Today's AFLPA is represented at each club by two players (delegates) who liaise important messages between the two parties.
Andrew Swallow and I represent North Melbourne.
The association is governed by a board consisting of nine existing players, of which I am one.
Adelaide's Brett Burton is president, having taken over from retired Tiger Joel Bowden.
Some estimates say that players get about a quarter of all revenues generated by the game. Is that a fair share when it is the players that put on the show? Some might say yes, others would scratch their heads at this, especially
when they compare it to, say NFL players, who get 60 per cent of all revenue from US gridiron.
The AFLPA is about to begin negotiating a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, which will govern the relationship between the AFL and the AFLPA on a wide range of matters from 2012 onwards.
It will cover everything from minimum pay for draftees, to how disputes are resolved between a player and a club and the overall amount of money allocated to players.
You will probably read a bit about this over the next year or so and it might be tempting to see it just as greedy players sticking their hand out for more.
But before you jump to conclusions, consider that players are working harder than ever before _ both on the field and off it. They are running faster, being rotated more often, attending more club events and meetings, doing
more interviews with the media, being asked to engage more with sponsors.
Our time to professionally develop ourselves off the field for life after football is constantly being eroded.
And when a factory worker or a nurse or a teacher works harder, they quite rightly, have a legitimate claim to be paid better. And why shouldn't a footy player get the same deal?
That's a question that a lot of people are going to have a view on between now and next year, when hopefully the AFLPA reaches an agreement with the AFL.
It should be an interesting ride.
- Drew Petrie played his junior football with Ballarat Swans in the Ballarat Football League.
North Melbourne selected him from North Ballarat Rebels as a second round choice (number 23) in the 2000 AFL national draft.
He made his AFL debut in 2001.
Now 27, Petrie has been elevated to vice-captain this year and has played more than 175 games for the Kangaroos.
Petrie's column is published exclusively in The Courier every second Saturday.
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