Newly elected Governor LePage (GOP-TPer) continues attack on working folks...trys to upstage stubborn Walker.
Wants secret business meetings, wants to have his pension exempt from increases, wants to remove symbolic 'labor' murals in public Dept of Labor building;
...TM7
Maine Gov. LePage Asks For ‘Shared Sacrifice,’ But Is Exempt From His Own Pension Changes Gov. Paul LePage (R-ME)
Gov. Paul LePage (R-ME) has called for “shared sacrifice” when it comes to balancing his state’s budget. “If you want prosperity, you have got to make sacrifices,” LePage said. However, as Zaid Jilani pointed out, LePage’s proposed budget asks the middle-class and public employees to bear the brunt of filling the state’s budget gap, while cutting taxes for the state’s wealthiest residents.
As part of his budget, LePage proposed raising the retirement age for public employees and freezing their cost-of-living adjustments. He also increased the amount that public employees are required to pay into their pension fund from 7.65 percent to 9.65 percent, which constitutes a cut in take-home pay for these employees. However, as Mike Tipping at the Kennebec Journal reported, the change doesn’t apply to LePage’s own compensation:
http://thinkprogress.org/2011/03/15/lepage-pension/~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maine Gov. Paul LePage Orders Labor History Mural Removed From State Offices Maine Tea Party Gov. Paul LePage (R) has ordered the removal of a 36-foot mural depicting Maine’s labor history from the lobby of the state’s Department of Labor offices, claiming they received “some complaints” from business owners. The Governor has also directed that eight conference rooms named after labor leaders — including Cesar Chavez — be renamed “after mountains, counties or something.”
The directive comes amidst rising tensions between the LePage Administration and organized labor over the governor’s support for a right-to-work bill and efforts to roll back the state’s child labor laws.
While the state’s AFL-CIO called the removal “mean-spirited”, a spokesman for the governor has said that the removal was not meant to “antagonize” labor, but rather to correct the office’s “one-sided decor.” In an e-mail to Labor Department employees, acting Chief Laura Boyett sought to explain the decision:
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.
The mural was funded by a $600,000 $60,000 grant from the federal government and includes depictions of Rosie the Riveter at Bath Iron works, a 1937 shoe worker’s strike, and a 1986 paper mill strike. “There was never any intention to be pro-labor or anti-labor,” the mural’s artist, Judy Taylor, told the Sun-Journal. “It was a pure depiction of the facts.”
Meanwhile, Chavez, FDR Labor Secretary Frances Perkins — the nation’s first female cabinet secretary — and William Looney, a 19th-century lawmaker who sponsored a 10-hour workday law, would all have their names removed under the order.
http://thinkprogress.org/2011/03/23/paul-lepage-labor-mural/~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gov. LePage delays creation of business advisory councils after criticismBy The Associated Press
Published Mar 25, 2011 12:23 pm | Last updated Mar 25, 2011 12:24 pm
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine Gov. Paul LePage is delaying his plan to form a business advisory council following criticism of his decision to exempt the panel from the state's open meetings law.
By executive order, LePage exempted the council from the state's Freedom of Access law. He also planned to create additional panels to advise him on business and environmental matters.
Spokeswoman Adrienne Bennett says the governor decided to put his plan for all advisory councils "on hold" for the time being. She says his chief concern was protecting panel members from unwanted media scrutiny, but she says the council idea hasn't been scrapped altogether.
Critics of the Freedom of Access exemption included the Maine Civil Liberties Union, Maine Heritage Policy Center, and several media organizations.
http://www.sunjournal.com/approved/story/1005668
