A STATEMENT FROM LAWCHA (Labor And Working Class History Association)

Dismantling Labor's Past in Maine

March 31, 2011

Over the weekend of March 26-27, 2011, Maine Governor Paul LePage had removed a mural celebrating labor history from the Department of Labor offices. In ten panels painted by Maine artist Judy Taylor and installed in 2008, the mural depicts the working people who were central in the making of Maine’s rich industrial history. The panels portray diverse groups of working-class Mainers, including colonial-era artisans; nineteenth-century loggers and child laborers; shoe workers on strike with the CIO in Auburn and Lewiston in 1937; and women workers riveting ships at Bath Iron Works during World War II. Together with the renaming of department conference rooms previously named after important figures in the nation's labor history, such as Frances Perkins, the first female secretary of labor, whose family has Maine roots, this act constitutes an attempt to erase the historical memory and heritage of Maine's working people.

For those interested, Judy Taylor's website has detailed photographs of the mural.

The Museum in Lewiston-Auburn and Portland City Hall are deliberating with state officials to take the mural off the state's hands. The Portland City Council is set to vote on April 4 on accepting the mural. The state AFL-CIO and Union of Maine Visual Artists, which has coordinated protests on this, seems to be working to pressure Portland and the museum not to take the mural at this time, in hopes that it might be returned
LAWCHA Resolution

The following resolution has been adopted regarding the Governor Paul LePage's actions in Maine:

The Labor and Working-Class History Association, the largest organization of labor historians in the United States, supports efforts to preserve public art that represents the nation's labor history in local, state, and federal buildings. We deplore Maine Governor Paul LePage's removal of the labor history mural from Maine Department of Labor offices over the weekend of March 26-27, 2011. In eleven panels painted by Maine artist Judy Taylor and installed in 2008, this mural depicts the working people who were central in the making of Maine’s rich industrial history. The panels portray diverse groups of working-class Mainers, including colonial-era artisans; nineteenth-century loggers and child laborers; shoe workers on strike with the CIO in Auburn and Lewiston in 1937; and women workers riveting ships at Bath Iron Works during World War II. Together with the renaming of department conference rooms previously named after important figures in the nation's labor history, such as Frances Perkins, the first female secretary of labor, whose family has Maine roots, this act constitutes an attempt to erase the historical memory and heritage of Maine's working people. LAWCHA urges Maine's elected officials to reinstall the mural in its original location and to return the names of distinguished labor activists to the rooms where they belong.

Labor and Working-Class History Association

Executive Committee
President, Kimberley Phillips
Vice President, Shelton Stromquist
Secretary, Cecelia Bucki
Treasurer, Thomas Klug
Immediate Past President, Mike Honey
Executive Assistant, Ryan Poe

Board
Randi Storch, SUNY - Cortland
Moon-Ho Jung, University of Washington
Laurie Green, University of Texas - Austin
Franca Iacovetta, University of Toronto
Erik Gellman, Roosevelt University
Thavolia Glymph, Duke Universityn
Ruth Milkman, University of California, Los Angeles
Joan Sangster, Trent University
Emilio Zamora, University of Texas, Austin
Francisco Barbarosa, University of Colorado, Boulder
Eileen Boris, University of California, Santa Barbara
Brian Kelly, Queen's University
Clarence Lang, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Priscilla Murolo, Sarah Lawrence
More Information

Maine Labor Mural Blog - the most recent news on the event.
Kevin Miller, The (Maine) Times Record, "Moved Mural Uproar Persists" (March 29, 2011)
Amanda Terkel, Huffington Post, "Maine Department Of Labor Quietly Removes Mural Over The Weekend" (March 28, 2011)
New York Times Editorial, "He Dreamed He Saw Kim Jong-Il" (March 27, 2011)