Maine Governor Strips Labor Department of Workers' Rights History

One of 11 panels of the labor history mural that Gov. LePage ordered removed.

By ordering the removal of a mural depicting the state's labor history, Maine Gov. Paul LePage has jumped head first into the competition among Republican governors to determine who's the most anti-union of them all.

The 36-foot mural had graced the lobby of the Maine Department of Labor with illustrations that include a 1937 shoe mill strike, the iconic "Rosie the Riveter," who in real life worked at Maine's Bath Iron Works, and a panel showing Francis Perkins, the first woman to serve as U.S. labor secretary. She is buried in Newcastle, Maine.

LePage also ordered that conference rooms named for Perkins and other past American labor leaders be renamed. The governor's spokesman said the mural and the conference-room names were "not in keeping with the department's pro-business goals."

Sinking even lower, LePage said he was influenced in his decision to remove the mural by someone who suggested it was akin to North Korean propaganda. That was especially insulting to the daughter of the mural's artist, a decorated Korean War veteran.

Judy Taylor told The New York Times that she is heartbroken by LePage's action. "Perhaps we should hang my father's Bronze Star for his service in Korea in the now empty reception area of the Maine Department of Labor until the mural is returned, as a symbol of the importance of remembering our history, and not shuttering it away," she said.

Meanwhile, LePage has shown great concern for one state worker, his 22-year-old daughter. According to news reports, he got her an entry-level job in the governor’s office paying $41,000, about $10,000 more than starting salaries for Maine's teachers and police officers.