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Canadas largest private-sector union, which is trying to organize major junior hockey players across the country, is scheduled to meet on Monday with Ontarios minister of labour to discuss the working conditions faced in the Canadian Hockey League by its 1,700 mostly teenaged players. Dave Casper Raiders Jersey . Jerry Dias, Unifors president, said he plans to ask Ontario Labour Minister Kevin Flynn to establish a task force charged with scrutinizing the business of junior hockey. Dias told TSN that when he met with Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne three weeks ago at Queens Park, Wynne brought up the issue of working conditions in junior hockey with him. Dias said Wynne told him she is interested in learning more about whether players get a fair share of the games profits. Flynns spokesman Craig MacBride declined to comment. Wynnes spokeswoman Zita Astravas said both the premier and Flynn have already met with Dias. Discussions covered a wide range of topics, she said. Unifor is an important partner and our government looks forward to a positive relationship with labour. Two years after a similar attempt to organize CHL players fizzled out, Unifor is trying again. The union, which represents about 300,000 workers in various industries, says major junior players are underpaid and exploited by the owners of junior teams that have become hugely profitable in recent years. The CHL says thats not true. Players dont receive more compensation because the leagues consider them student athletes, said CHL commissioner David Branch. Many players are also eligible for valuable scholarship programs when they finish playing junior hockey, he said in an interview. Dias said Unifor staff have spent the past few weeks trying to determine how governments in the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, Michigan and Pennsylvania -- states where eight of the CHLs 60 teams play -- view major junior players. Canadian students who attend U.S. schools, such as the University of Michigan, obtain student visas to travel across the border. But NHL player agent Anton Thun said that since OHL players have P1 work visas, its unclear how Branch and other league officials can consider those players as student athletes. I dont profess to know the immigration laws, Branch said. I dont know what you need to facilitate a player playing in the U.S. Thun said the three major junior leagues in Canada are desperate to keep their player costs down at the same time as the leagues collective profits have surged. These leagues have gone from being mom and pop businesses in the 1980s to hugely profitable money-making private businesses that sell millions of dollars in tickets, hundreds of thousands of dollars in jerseys and sponsorships and TV rights. The truth is junior teams are no longer what they say they are. Most CHL teams are private companies and dont disclose their finances, though Branch said roughly one-third of teams lose money. He declined to provide any estimates on how much money cash-rich or cash-poor teams generate. The Kitchener Rangers, who are publicly owned, play in a city with a population of 219,000. In August 2013, the team reported total revenue of $6.2 million for the previous season, up from $5.6 million. The Rangers sold $470,000 worth of team merchandise alone. One of the lures of playing major junior hockey is the chance to earn a scholarship that can later go to pay for a players post-secondary education. The packages can add up to more than $40,000, depending on how long a player plays in the CHL. Thun said a union might help spur a discussion about simply paying players that money in cash. Why not just give it to them, and let them and their families decide whether to invest it, or spend it on a car, or something else that they want or need, Thun said. Branch, however, said the parents of players have been supportive of the scholarship packages, even though it expires if a player doesnt go to school within 18 months of their junior career. In a focus group of about 16 families of OHL players that was conducted five years ago, most parents said they supported the time limit, Branch said. What if the kids indiscriminately spend the money, what are they left with? Branch said. Parents have suggested there is a value to putting a framework in place to encourage players to go on to a post-secondary education. Branch said hes unsure what it might mean for teams if they were forced to begin paying a minimum wage to players. Unifors Dias said an average 40-hour work week adds up to about 2,000 hours a year. If players in Ontario were paid the minimum wage of $11 per hour for half the year, it would work out to about $11,000 per player, or at least $220,000 a year for each team. Its unclear how much teams now pay for players, but in recent years, the OHL paid players $55 a week. The league recently introduced new guidelines where teams re-imburse players for expenses instead of paying them a set weekly amount. Not everyone would embrace the concept of a union. Bob Stellick, a sports marketing executive whose son Robert played two years in the OHL, said many parents would shrug off the idea of a union. I dont think $50 a week really makes any difference for most families, said Stellick, whose Toronto company has produced public service announcements for the CHL. The key for parents is the type of experience their son gets. If the player doesnt play to family expectations, isnt drafted, gets traded once or twice, and doesnt complete high school, then yes the family would be sour. Award-winning journalist Rick Westhead is TSNs Senior Correspondent for TSNs platforms - TSN, TSN Radio, TSN.ca and TSN GO. He has covered a wide variety of sports issues for a slate of leading publications, among them the Toronto Star, Bloomberg News, Canadian Press, Globe and Mail, New York Times, and Saturday Night Magazine. Earlier this year, Westhead was part of a team that won the prestigious Project of the Year at the National Newspaper Awards. He was also honoured with the Toronto Stars Reporter of the Year Award in 2007. Share your comments with Rick Westhead on Twitter at @rwesthead. Lester Hayes Raiders Jersey . Mars announced Saturday that the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers will join him as part of his halftime show. Super Bowl halftime performers often have collaborators. Lyle Alzado Raiders Jersey . Span, Danny Espinosa and Adam LaRoche had two hits apiece as Washington won the final two games of the series. The Nationals improved to 3-7 against Atlanta. They increased their division lead over the Braves to 1 1/2 games. http://www.theraidersfansclub.com/Black-Amari-Cooper-Raiders-Jersey.html?cat=881 . Villa has already confirmed his short-term deal and the Daily Mirror reported early Tuesday that Lampard will join him as both build up match fitness ahead of moves to the new Major League Soccer franchise New York City.CHICAGO -- Marian Hossa celebrated his 35th birthday by picking his teammates after an unlucky break. Hossa had a power-play goal and an assist, and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-3 on Sunday night to end a three-game losing streak. Hossas 17th goal came during a 5-on-3 advantage in Chicagos dominant second period, and just 29 seconds after teammate Patrick Kane inadvertently bounced a pass off the boards and into an empty net during a delayed penalty call. Edmontons Boyd Gordon was credited with a fluke short-handed goal that tied it at 2. No problem for Hossa, who helped his team move on by quickly regaining the moment for the Blackhawks. "That type of thing happens once in a while, and we did a good job of bouncing back," Hossa said. "We got a big one the next shift." Ben Smith, Andrew Shaw, Jonathan Toews and Brent Seabrook also scored for Chicago, which had 15 goals in a three-game sweep of the season series against Edmonton. The Blackhawks picked up their play after a slow start and outshot Edmonton 41-21. Chicagos Antti Raanta made 18 saves in just his second start since No. 1 goalie Corey Crawford returned from a lower-body injury on Jan. 2. Ales Hemsky and Taylor Hall also scored for Edmonton, and Devan Dubnyk blocked 36 shots. The Blackhawks grabbed control with a three-goal second that gave them a 4-2 lead. Chicago outshot Edmonton 19-5 in the period. "The second period again," Oilers coach Dallas Eakins said. "Its a little mind-boggling." "I thought we caught a great break on that crazy second goal," he added. "And then we went out and we couldnt kill that 5-on-3 and now youre chasing it against a good team again. Youre very rarely going to fare well doing that." Shaw struck first, converting a high screened shot from the left circle at 2:36 of the second. Shaws 12th goal came moments after a turnover by Edmontons Nail Yakupov at centre ice. After Gordons unusual score tied it at 2, Hossa scored on a screened shot from 35 feet aaway in the slot. Michael Crabtree Raiders Jersey. "I thought we had a better purpose in our game," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said, praising his teams response to its recent slide. "We were first to a lot of pucks, had better layers in our zones." Toews completed a 2-on-1 break with Patrick Sharp with 2:28 left in the second to extend Chicagos lead to 4-2. After taking Sharps feed, Toews tucked a backhander under Dubnyks pad. Hall got one back for Edmonton when he one-timed a pass from Schultz past Raanta at 5:17 of the third, but Seabrook restored Chicagos two-goal advantage with 5:41 left. Hemsky opened the scoring at 6:08 of the first. He got past Blackhawks defenceman Duncan Keith on the right wing, cut alone across the top of the crease and slipped a low backhand shot past Raanta. The Blackhawks tied it at 1 on Smiths deflection with 5:34 left in the period. It was Chicagos first first-period goal since Dec. 30, a span of six games. The NHLs most potent offence helped make up for an unlucky break in the second. The Blackhawks already were on a 5-on-4 power play and buzzing in the Oilers zone when Dubnyk hacked Shaw and was assessed a delayed penalty for slashing. Raanta vacated his net and headed to the bench as Chicago sent out an extra attacker. From the right corner, Kane bounced a pass off the boards toward the right point. But no Blackhawk was there and the puck slid the length of the ice and into the net. "I thought the point man was there and it seemed to keep catching speed and found the net," Kane said. "It was good that we got it right back, especially on the 5-on-3. That made it a little bit better." NOTES: The Blackhawks three-game losing streak matched their season-longest slide. ... The Oilers started a four-game road trip and now move on to Dallas, Minnesota and Winnipeg. ... Chicago has won four straight against Edmonton, dating to last season. ... Kane had two assists, but following a career-high 14-game point streak (eight goals, 17 assists), the Blackhawks leading scorer has just three assists in his last seven. NFL Jerseys China cheap jerseys ' ' '