On a hot, sunny Memorial Day, May 30, 2016, a crowd of over 400 people gathered at the Workers Memorial Garden on the lawn at the State Capitol to dedicate a Workers Memorial Mural.
The installation, a hand-cut stone mosaic created by Twin Cities artist Craig David, can be seen on the south-facing wall of the Workers Memorial Garden. It is a wild mix of colors and shapes that suggest images of workers and working life throughout the history of Minnesota. More about the Workers Mural here.
The event included a performance by the Twin Cities Labor Chorus, and remarks by former Vice-President Walter Mondale, Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith and MN AFL-CIO President Bill McCarthy.
David Roe, age 92, was acknowledged by all of the speakers as the driving force behind the creation of both the Memorial Garden and the Workers Mural, a seventeen year effort. Remarking on Roe’s persistence, Mondale said , “David’s a tough old buzzard, and a great labor leader and it was my privilege to work with him over many years of public life to create laws that made jobs safe, made them pay a decent wage, and to put the broader interests of working Americans before the public policy makers in Minnesota and in Washington.”
Bill McCarthy said, “This memorial would not be here today without David Roe’s leadership. David has dedicated his entire life to working Minnesotans.”
In some brief comments at the end of the ceremony, and by giving a thumbs-up to the crowd, Dave Roe said, “What we’ve done here is commemorating the service of all those people who lost their lives in the service of building Minnesota. So I can just say say, thank you, thank you, thank you.”
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On a hot, sunny Memorial Day, May 30, 2016, a crowd of over 400 people gathered at the Workers Memorial Garden on the lawn at the State Capitol to dedicate a Workers Memorial Mural.
The installation, a hand-cut stone mosaic created by Twin Cities artist Craig David, can be seen on the south-facing wall of the Workers Memorial Garden. It is a wild mix of colors and shapes that suggest images of workers and working life throughout the history of Minnesota. More about the Workers Mural here.
The event included a performance by the Twin Cities Labor Chorus, and remarks by former Vice-President Walter Mondale, Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith and MN AFL-CIO President Bill McCarthy.
David Roe, age 92, was acknowledged by all of the speakers as the driving force behind the creation of both the Memorial Garden and the Workers Mural, a seventeen year effort. Remarking on Roe’s persistence, Mondale said , “David’s a tough old buzzard, and a great labor leader and it was my privilege to work with him over many years of public life to create laws that made jobs safe, made them pay a decent wage, and to put the broader interests of working Americans before the public policy makers in Minnesota and in Washington.”
Bill McCarthy said, “This memorial would not be here today without David Roe’s leadership. David has dedicated his entire life to working Minnesotans.”
In some brief comments at the end of the ceremony, and by giving a thumbs-up to the crowd, Dave Roe said, “What we’ve done here is commemorating the service of all those people who lost their lives in the service of building Minnesota. So I can just say say, thank you, thank you, thank you.”