I am a resident who supports Gov. LePage’s decision to remove the mural from the state Labor Department building. I say it should never have been put there in the first place.

It is not a complete pictorial history of labor in Maine, but it is a $60,000 pictorial history of organized/union labor. If it is a history of labor, where are the lobstermen, the blueberry and potato farmers, the servers in restaurants, the tree farmers and wreath makers?

Additional Photos

Tremont artist Judy Taylor discusses her “History of Labor in Maine” mural during a public forum April 8 at the Portland Museum of Art. File photo by Gordon Chibroski/Staff Photographer

I could go on and on, but I hope you get my point. This $60,000 work would be better suited in the Teamsters union hall or in a museum for all to enjoy.

I am not against art; I used to run a local theater and art gallery. I was also a member of the Teamsters union but I am tired of the one-sided coverage of this dreaded mural. All I seem to hear on the news and read in the paper is from the pro-mural crowd and it is truly getting old.

Call the mural what it is: a lovely and expensive depiction of union labor, not all labor, in Maine. Accept change and move on, please, for everyone’s peace of mind.

Kevin R. Brown
Nobleboro 

OK, enough fighting over the small stuff! There is much too much going on in this country and world that needs to be fixed. A mural is a piece of art to be admired, and it can be seen on any wall anywhere.

Maine’s governor should not be worrying over what people think about the workers mural, nor should the people of Maine. When my kids were young and were fighting among themselves, I would say to them “The smartest one will shut up!”

Barbara Britten
Shapleigh 

So now it seems as if Maine will be required to repay the U.S. Department of Labor for the mural that our new governor removed from the Maine Department of Labor building.

It seems as if he is committed to making this sort of divisive and hurtful political statement regardless of the cost. I would only hope that he pony up the cost of the reimbursement out of his salary — maybe his labor commissioner would go halves with him — and not stick Maine taxpayers with the bill for his immature petulance.

Virgil Bozeman III
Augusta 

Hello, anybody home? I’m writing in response to your articles on the missing mural from the Labor Department’s wall and the few activists and others with little to do other than redirect our attention from the main issue of the budget.

Rather than coming up with any ideas on how to assist in solving the main problem, our enormous deficit, they are stuck on attacking Gov. LePage’s removal of the mural and his language. True, he’s not a good speaker. So what? Have you listened to the TV, our kids’ music or maybe your own language lately?

I’m more upset about the state and federal governments spending almost $100,000 between them to paint that mural. That’s our tax dollars.

Bill Brady
Scarborough 

“Offensive”? A work of art depicting the triumphs and struggles of American workers is offensive? Rosie the Riveter is offensive?

What was offensive was the treatment of workers before the onset of the labor movement. What is offensive is that Gov. LePage and people like Ray Richardson believe that there is a war between business and labor. Believe it or not, both sides need each other in order to function and thrive.

Unfortunately, our clueless, embarrassing and myopic governor seems determined to ridicule and antagonize rather than explain and persuade. The governor may actually have some good ideas, but I have stopped listening and I suspect a majority of my fellow Mainers have as well.

It’s going to be a long four years.

Derek Berlew
Falmouth 

As a nation and society we have always had the capacity to recognize our faults. It is a testament to our strength that we can celebrate our abilities to transcend these lesser natures.

We have been able to look at ourselves honestly, critically, and at times with great pain and make corrections. It is one of the most profound attributes of our democratic system and that which makes us great as a nation.

Public art is one of the ways we celebrate what we have become over where we were. It offers us reminders so we do not again slip into those areas of darkness.

The labor mural is no more oppositional to business than civil rights memorials are oppositional to white people. Likewise, it would be absurd to counter civil rights memorials with those in favor of segregation.

The labor mural simply speaks to our common evolution as a culture. To take it away in regard to a “balanced perspective” is based on the false premise that to be pro-labor is to be anti-business, and that given the opportunity all businesses would compromise the well-being of their employees for higher profits. For the vast majority of businesses, large and small alike, this is simply not true.

We are better than this. It is murals like this and countless other acts of art celebrating our growth as a nation that show us how far we have come.

Michael Shaughnessy
professor of art
University of Southern Maine, Portland 

The front-page article featuring Judy Taylor in the April 10 edition of the Maine Sunday Telegram places the “mural-type distraction” in its proper perspective.

As Taylor indicates, her objective in creating the mural was “to educate” and “reflect Maine history.” It was originally, and rightly so, commissioned and produced to be appropriately displayed by the Department of Labor.

It was Gov. LePage and his business cronies who, in their infinite wisdom, decreed that the work was political in nature and “left-wing propaganda.” LePage supporters seek only to justify his action and view the issue merely as a “distraction.”

However, when the governor banished this work of art from the Department of Labor, he unwittingly did the artist and the people of Maine who he offended a great service. The mural and its artist are at last gaining the recognition and respect they deserve.

I would hope that all the “idiots” of Maine would establish a fund to purchase the mural from the state and rescue it from oblivion. They could sponsor an exhibit traveling throughout Maine and the rest of New England, perhaps nationally, so the mural may fulfill its primary objective, “to educate” the public.

The exhibit should make it clear that this work of art is by and for the people of Maine and is not endorsed by its governor.

By popular demand, at the end of the tour, it should be returned to the custody of Maine residents and restored to its rightful place on the walls of the Department of Labor, with or without Gov. LePage’s blessing.

Sam Kamin
Cumberland 

Is it possible I am in the middle of an outrageous Taliban nightmare in which we rip down artwork and pass out arms? No, we’re simply in the state of Maine under the regime of Gov. LePage and some very misguided legislators.

Apparently some of our elected officials believe gun ownership regulations are far too restrictive and must be loosened so that anyone, any time, anywhere (even in the State House) can become armed and dangerous. Forget the logic of this folly at a time when elected officials and citizens are shot and/or killed due to the ease of gun ownership.

At a time when people scream about fiscal prudence, excessive health care expenditures, and breach of homeland security, would it not make perfect sense to prevent needless death, injury and expense by tightening up our gun laws?

Please wake me when the artwork returns, the easy-breezy gun access ordinances disappear, and the grownups return us to sense and sensibility.

Diane Denk
Kennebunk 

Gov. LePage’s removal of the mural from the wall at the Department of Labor is a significant symbolic act worthy of critical attention. We should not, however, let the mural issue distract us from the current issues regarding workers’ rights under consideration in our Legislature.

As a social work student and a parent, I am concerned about L.D. 1346, “An Act to Enhance Access to the Workplace for Minors,” and L.D. 516, “An Act to Amend Maine Law to Conform with Federal Law Regarding Employment Practices for Certain Minors.”

These acts, proposed by Rep. David Burns and Sen. Deborah Plowman, lower the wages and increase the working hours for minors.

There are two major issues on this topic. First, while it is appropriate to work during the school year, it is not OK to work too many hours, as that might interfere with homework or sleep. Studying and a good night’s rest are critically important for school performance. Second, lowering wages potentially allows for exploitation of minors at a time when many adults are having a hard time finding work.

Maine’s economy is driven by tourism. The Maine hospitality industry would enjoy having a larger pool of lower-wage workers, working longer hours, to help it raise its profits. However, our state government’s job is to protect people, and especially people who are not in a position to protect themselves — like our children and their education.

Use the mural issue to raise awareness about the labor issues at hand. Contact your local senator and representative and tell them you do not support either L.D. 1346 or L.D. 516, and don’t repeal our child labor laws.

Elizabeth Oakleaf
Falmouth 

This is a short but definitely not sweet note.

How dare LePage? That mural is not his to remove. He is a thief and I feel he should be prosecuted as such. His sneaking it out on a weekend shows his disregard for the people who pay his salary — us!

There is a petition with more than 15,000 signatures for his recall. One of those signatures is mine.

Ann J. Dillon
Portland 

In response to the legal opinion of the state attorney general that Gov. LePage had the legal authority to remove the mural from the lobby of the Department of Labor: Nobody questioned his power to do so. What was questioned was his judgment, his motives and, yes, his IQ.

In the three months he has been governor, LePage has not informed the rest of the country that Maine is now open for business. What he has done is inform the rest of the country that Maine is now governed by a buffoon.

What does that do for Maine’s image?

Paul J. Mann
Limerick

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