The Maine People’s Alliance revealed Tuesday that one of its “spies” secretly recorded Gov. Paul LePage as he spoke to a meeting of the Informed Women’s Network.
According to MPA’s blogger Mike Tipping, LePage said on the recording that he declared a civil emergency in order to help state workers get unemployment insurance as quickly as possible during the partial federal shutdown. The recording also reveals that labor bosses with the Maine State Employees Association, rather than cooperate with the governor on helping their members get unemployment benefits as quickly as possible, refused to negotiate and instead threatened lawsuits.
For Tipping, however, LePage’s remarks are the most scandalous scandal to ever scandalize Maine politics.
He quotes the governor from the recording as follows: “I met with unions a week ago. I said, folks, we’ve gotta worry about the employees. If they shut down they’re gonna be without work, so we have to make a deal, you know lets work on finding a way to get them money as quickly as possible. And this is what they told me: ‘well, we’ll watch how you manage this crisis and we will look at our position when it’s over and if we have the ability to sue, we’ll sue.’ So, I thought about it and we exercised the civil emergency which means that their contract is null and void until after the crisis.” (Interestingly, the audio recording Tipping later put online includes just 48 seconds of a meeting that lasted more than an hour.)
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Founder and President of the Informed Women’s Network Susan Dench said the governor’s appearance at the IWN meeting was fantastic.
“He was well spoken and really did a fantastic job … He didn’t bash the other side as much as talk about how he wants to bring the state back through education, employment and energy,” said Dench.
“We are happy that the Maine People’s Alliance sent some of its activists to our meeting,” she said. “The Informed Women’s Network is always looking for new members and all political persuasions are welcome.”
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Dench said it was unfortunate though that pro-union activists would seek to distract the public from the work the governor is doing to help state workers get by during the partial federal shutdown.
“Next time, Mike Tipping should come himself rather than sending spies. He would be welcomed with open arms,” she said. “I just hope he and his activist pals try and learn something if they plan on infiltrating our meetings.”
Steve Robinson
Maine Wire Reporter
[email protected]
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="7503 http://www.themainewire.com/?p=7503">6 Comments
Great article. It’s funny how the other side often misreads what is right in front of them. What I took away from that meeting was that the unions, yet again, were looking out for themselves and not their members.
Tipping thinks he’s “Moriarty,” but he comes across more as “Maud.”
Tipping won’t come to meetings. He is such a coward to face the public because of his lies and half truths. I am so sick of how he can be such a weazel and get away with it.
Thank you Mr. LePage, from all of us “union backed” state employees. I for one am sick too death of the SEIU/MSEA and would like to see them run out on a rail. I am an adult and perfectly capable of negotiating my own contract. Thank you again sir. I will be voting for you again this time around.
Tipping and his Marxist Maine People’s Alliance masters are despicable people. But they should be congratulated for once again exposing the greed and corruption of the nosses of the SEIU/MSEA.
Has anyone asked why the Governor attended a gathering of 11 indivuiduals? What is the connection with the IWN and can any organized group request the Governor attend one of their meetings? What is the procedure? How often does he accept such invitations? Just curious.