Workers of the world, disunite!

At the behest of new governor Paul LePage, Maine’s Department of Labor has removed murals from its lobby that portray events from the state’s labor history, and will also rename conference rooms named after important figures in organized labor. As the Acting Commissioner of the Labor Dept. wrote in an email,

“We have received feedback that the administration building is not perceived as equally receptive to both businesses and workers—primarily because of the nature of the mural in the lobby and the names of our conference rooms. Whether or not the perception is valid is not really at issue and therefore, not open to debate. If either of our two constituencies perceives that they are not welcome in our administration building and this translates to a belief that their needs will not be heard or met by this department, then it presents a barrier to achieving our mission.

“I will be seeking a new home for the mural and we will be renaming the conference rooms in our administrative office at Commerce Drive in Augusta.”

These murals sure sound intense. Obviously they must show some kind of violent worker revolt to elicit such “feedback.” Let’s have a look:

Dear god! I see workers organizing, voting, and striking! The horror! The horror!

But fear not, workers of Maine; according to Governor LePage’s press secretary,

“We’re not going to put an ‘Open for Business’ sign in the lobby either…It’s going to be neutral.”

That’s because we already put that sign on the highway, motherfuckers!

Big bizness is in the hizzouse! Note Governor LePage (left) holding a giant green trash bag in which to place any remaining vestiges of worker solidarity or dignity.

- Max

max.canning@gmail.com