Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Unions already wield more political power than the average taxpaying voter. Is the lack of a mural really such a threat ? Is the philosophy upholding their existence so weak?
And corporations and the wealthy also have a lot more political power than the typical voter. I think that unions play a major role in promoting the typical voters interest against those with much greater financial resources.
I'm aware of the problems that unions have had and caused... especially in the late 60s and 70s... I grew up in Pittsburgh which was a heavily unionized city. My father worked for US Steel, not as a laborer, but rather negotiated with the steel workers union. The unions made mistakes... but, I think that there is still a place for them and that they can learn from past errors. I don't think getting rid of them is the answer... as a matter of fact, I think that would be disastrous to the middle class.
That's why I'm on the fence with public unions. I see the conflict.... public unions donating to politicians who then feel beholden to them during negotiations. But, I also feel that there are many out there who want to ban public unions and not stop there. They would like to see all unions die. Since I don't want to be part of the destruction of private unions, I can't agree with banning public unions and their bargaining rights.
Can't some solution be found for public unions and the above mentioned conflict without banning them from bargaining?
And corporations and the wealthy also have a lot more political power than the typical voter. I think that unions play a major role in promoting the typical voters interest against those with much greater financial resources.
I'm aware of the problems that unions have had and caused... especially in the late 60s and 70s... I grew up in Pittsburgh which was a heavily unionized city. My father worked for US Steel, not as a laborer, but rather negotiated with the steel workers union. The unions made mistakes... but, I think that there is still a place for them and that they can learn from past errors. I don't think getting rid of them is the answer... as a matter of fact, I think that would be disastrous to the middle class.
That's why I'm on the fence with public unions. I see the conflict.... public unions donating to politicians who then feel beholden to them during negotiations. But, I also feel that there are many out there who want to ban public unions and not stop there. They would like to see all unions die. Since I don't want to be part of the destruction of private unions, I can't agree with banning public unions and their bargaining rights.
Can't some solution be found for public unions and the above mentioned conflict without banning them from bargaining?
Do the corporations have a mural in the Maine state house?
While I'd like to counter the rest of your post that would be off topic and against the TOS.
Do the corporations have a mural in the Maine state house?
While I'd like to counter the rest of your post that would be off topic and against the TOS.
I should add that government has always been about representing the people, even those that aren't wealthy. And, like it or not, unions are associated with the non-wealthy population. So, I can see a mural with labor images given that unions represented those less fortunate than the wealthier class.
Also, please try to understand that at one time I was very anti-union. H*ll, I voted Republican until Reagan came on the scene. So my attitude towards unions has actually mellowed over the years. I appreciate there counter weight to corporations wealth and influence.
Would a mural with corporation logos please you? :-) Actually, it wouldn't bother me. Heinz museum in P'burgh has a lot of exhibits featuring corps which I found interesting.
I wonder who authorized the mural in the first place. And did they ask the people?
The mural was installed in 2007. The governor at that time was John Baldacci, a Democrat. And of course the people were not consulted. They didn't have to be since the mural was consistent with the "culture" at the Department of Labor.
I put the word 'culture' in quotes because that is the word used by a former Democrat candidate for governor who took to the radio airwaves this morning to denouce Governor Lepage for attempting to destroy the culture of the Labor Department. No one asked him the question; what precisely is the culture you want to preserve? But I'll answer that quetion for him.
The Department of Labor in Maine is the bailliwick of organized labor. The mural makes that clear. Rather than depicting Maine businesses and laborers such as shipbuilding, papermaking, potato and blueberry farming, lobstering, shrimping and the like, the mural depicts labor strikes and strikers. In other words the culture at that department glorifies labor strife. It's a 'them against us' mentality. And that's what the current governor wants to change.
The militantly anti-union governor of Maine has ordered a mural depicting the history of labor struggles in the state removed from... the Labor Department.
How many union members did it take to take the mural down?
Political necessity will always triumph by destroying art if the tyrants do not approve.
LaPge is not merely destroying art- he is trying to ERASE THE HISTORY of the labor struggle in Maine. His cronies around the country are trying to do the same thing in their states.
The quote in my OP was not "communist", as at least one ignorant poster suggested- it is from Orwell's "1984". In the novel, the protaganist works in the Ministry of Information. It is his job to go back over the historical record and ERASE anything emarrassing to the totalitaian government.
This is EXACTLY what LaPage and his ilk around the country are up to.
The militantly anti-union governor of Maine has ordered a mural depicting the history of labor struggles in the state removed from... the Labor Department.
"Those who control the present control the past. Those who control the past control the future"...
you really have a problem with this? dont you remember that bambam sent a bust of Winston Churchhill back to Great Britain.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
