“WASHINGTON -- The Maine Department of Labor quietly took down a mural depicting the state's labor history over the weekend, after Gov. Paul LePage (R) sparked controversy last week byordering it removed and saying it was biased against businesses and employers.
“The mural has been removed and is in storage awaiting relocation to a more appropriate venue," said LePage Press Secretary Adrienne Bennett in a statement provided to The Huffington Post. "Workers and employers need to work together to create opportunity for Maine's 50,000 unemployed. We understand that not everyone agrees with this decision, but the Maine Department of Labor has to be focused on the job at hand."
"This is government censorship at its worst," said state Rep. Diane Russell (D), who has been an outspoken advocate on labor rights…”
“(CNN) -- Maine GOP Gov. Paul LePage followed through with his decision to remove a mural depicting the history of the workers' movement from the state's labor department lobby, a spokeswoman said Monday.
"The mural has been removed and is in storage awaiting relocation to a more appropriate venue," said LePage press secretary Adrienne Bennett in a prepared statement. "We understand that not everyone agrees with this decision, but the Maine Department of Labor has to be focused on the job at hand."
The controversy over the 36-foot-long, 11-panel mural erupted last week when a LePage administration official announced that the artwork would be removed and that conference rooms dedicated to American labor movement icons would be renamed.
Administration officials said the change was needed to reflect a new image for the department, one not tilted toward organized labor. They said visitors to the lobby had complained that the mural is anti-business.
Maine AFL-CIO president Don Berry called it "a spiteful, mean-spirited move by the governor that does nothing to create jobs or improve the Maine economy."
Last week, acting Maine Labor Commissioner Laura Boyett announced a contest to replace the names affixed to the conference rooms. The names to be replaced include Cesar Chavez and Frances Perkins…”
These right wing Republicans are the same type of Republicans that objected to the movies; “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” and “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
There is something wrong with these people. They act like they love America and attack everyone else for being un-American but they hate everything that is good about America.
“…LePage's office originally said that the governor made his decision after complaints from businesses owners, eventually pointing to a single anonymous letter, in which the author said that when looking at the mural, he or she felt like it was something from "communist North Korea."
In an e-mail to The Huffington Post, Bennett also pointed to a Sunday blog post by Mike Violette, a conservative radio host in Maine, along with other anonymous statements from employers who support what LePage is doing and believe the mural has helped make the Department of Labor a "militant, angry, business-hating environment."
There have been several protests at the Department of Labor, and one attendee suggested forming a human chain to block the mural's removal. When asked by WCSH 6 what he would do if protesters did indeed form a chain, LePage replied, "I'd laugh at them, the idiots. That's what I would do. Come on! Get over yourselves!"”
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