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I wonder if the Omaha City
Council kept in mind Omaha's new motto: "RARE,
WELL DONE" when they
voted Tuesday, May 22nd, to name the new riverfront park located
on the old Asarco refinery site:
'UNION
LABOR PLAZA'
The Omaha
Parks and Recreation Advisory Board had previously suggested naming
the park River Gate Plaza.
The council rejected this name in
January and suggested to the board that they obtain input from the
public. More than 360 suggestions
were submitted from schoolchildren, organizations and others.
The advisory board had planned to
select a name June 4th but members of the city council suspected the
board was intentionally delaying the process until a new council is
sworn in June 11th. Five of the seven council members will be new at
that point.
ASARCO
Spring 2001 |
The council approved the
name Union Labor Plaza
with a 6-1 vote. Councilman
Lormong Lo cast the only no vote. They claim the name was chosen
to honor the Asarco
employees, (Former location of the American
Smelting And Roofing Company plant) as well as the other
people who labored to build downtown Omaha and are
continuing to build the riverfront.
Many folks thought the plaza
name should pay tribute to the Lewis
and Clark expedition, especially with the bicentennial
events being planned around the area. |
At the very least, something in the name
should indicate where this park is located - On
the River!
I personally have a visual
of a place somewhere in America called 'Union
Labor Plaza' - it's
something like a concrete memorial set in the middle of a big city
surrounded by tall buildings.
Once again, Omaha will be thought of as a place with a motto like
'Rare, Well Done'. |
ASARCO Circa 1915 |
COMMENTARY
Omaha
World-Herald Editorial
Published Thursday - May 24, 2001
Lame-Duck Name Games
It's not hard to agree with the Omaha City Council that common
workers deserve public recognition in these parts. The city's
blue-collar origins are a matter of historical fact. The
sacrifices of the strong-backed laborers who built the
Transcontinental Railroad in the face of horrible conditions are
the stuff of legend. Working people, and in many cases their
unions, have contributed much to the region's progress over the
years.
But why should that recognition take the form of burdening
Omaha's new riverfront park with Union Labor Plaza, a name so
clunky and unimaginative that it could have emanated from some
third-tier Politburo subcommittee?
Months ago, the City Council set in place a procedure and an
advisory board to propose names for the park-to-be on the site
of the old Asarco refinery. The panel's first suggestion - not
half bad, River Gate Plaza - was rejected, and the group was
told to get suggestions from the public. After it got some,
Tuesday's vote showed that the council members didn't care. One
wonders why they bothered asking. The only reason the 6-1 vote
in favor of Union Labor Plaza wasn't unanimous was that
Councilman Lormong Lo wanted to add a word to it.
It's that kind of in-everyone's-face pigheadedness that helped
render five of those council members lame ducks. They'll be gone
in 18 days - days every Omahan should be counting with eager
anticipation. The public's general disgust with this council
during recent months was almost palpable. It's tempting to
wonder whether the whole panel wouldn't have been swept clean
except for the fact that District 1 pitted two incumbents
against one another and District 2 had no credible challenger.
The comment by lame-duck Councilman Bob Sivick that there are
few monuments dedicated to working people but many named for the
rich and powerful was laughable for its tin-ear reasoning. The
presence on many Omaha institutions of such names as Kiewit,
Doorly, Durham, Joslyn and so on is well known. But to our
knowledge there has never been a push to name a facility
something like Corporate Management Park.
The new council should revisit this issue and rescind the
misguided Union Labor Plaza designation. If there is still an
overriding sentiment to honor unions and labor, a better
approach would be to search out the name of some historically
respected union official and put that on some other significant
facility. There should be plenty of other ways to honor labor's
contributions here. They should be explored and implemented
where possible.
In the meantime, stretch your imagination and try to envision
the average Omaha homemaker saying, "Hey, Fred, let's pack
a lunch and take the kids to a picnic down at Union Labor
Plaza." It just doesn't work. Another point of concern: How
many potential users of the new plaza, not knowing how the name
came to be bestowed, would hesitate even to enter it if they
aren't current or retired labor union members?
A central purpose of facilities such as this, paid for by all
the taxpayers, is to be inclusive. That's why the advisory board
was asked to solicit the views of the public, and its work ought
to be respected. The name that was rammed through by the council
on Tuesday doesn't come close to inclusiveness. The new council
has an excellent opportunity to improve the terrain it inherits
by renaming the park - if the members can stop laughing long
enough to vote. |
Omaha
World-Herald Editorial
Published Tuesday - May 29, 2001
Another Point of View: Union
Labor Plaza Is Perfectly Fitting Name
by Terry Moore - The writer is president of the Omaha
Federation of Labor/AFL-CIO.
The May 24 World-Herald editorial, "Lame
Duck Name Games," concerning the City Council's
decision to give the name "Union Labor Plaza" to the
park located on the former Asarco site, was perplexing, to say
the least. The editorial began, "It's not hard to agree
with the Omaha City Council that common workers deserve public
recognition in these parts." But it then proceeded to argue
vehemently against the council's action to provide such
recognition.
The editorial criticized the council for not waiting for the
Parks Advisory Board's recommendation and for allegedly not
taking public opinion into consideration when naming the park.
The fact is that in January, the Parks Advisory Board presented
the name River Gate Plaza to the council. The panel could not
list any other name considered and would not reveal who chose
the name or how the decision was made. If the board had had its
way, no public input would have been allowed in naming this
park.
The council directed the board to seek public input and provide
the list of suggested names to the council for consideration.
The board did so, but sat on these names for several months and
did not provide the list to the council as directed.
Several weeks ago, the board decided to delay any action on the
matter until it would be too late for the current council (which
oversaw the entire process of converting an eyesore into
beautiful public green space) to name the park. The council then
obtained the list of suggested names, reviewed and discussed
them and decided to name the park Union Labor Plaza to honor
labor unions and what they have done for all Americans.
Many people now take for granted the efforts of the labor
movement and labor unions in bringing about such things as the
40-hour work week, child-labor laws, workplace safety laws,
unemployment insurance, pensions and a host of other protections
that add to the safety, well-being and dignity of all Americans
who work for a living. The fact that most people forget whose
efforts provided these benefits is all the more reason to honor
the labor movement and labor unions in the naming of the park.
The editorial made the ridiculous argument that the name Union
Labor Plaza could lead people to believe that no one but union
members would be allowed into the park. If that were the case,
people would believe that only Gene Leahy would be welcome to
enter the mall named for him and that only cancer survivors are
welcome in Cancer Survivors Park.
Parks are named to honor people and institutions, and their
names do not explicitly or implicitly deny access to anyone. The
council has more respect for the intelligence of the public than
did that editorial statement.
Lastly, the editorial suggested that the labor movement be
honored by naming something else (presumably not too visible)
after some union official. To do that would go against
everything the labor movement stands for.
Union officials, just like union members, toil to better the
lives not just of their brothers and sisters in unions but those
of all working people. They do not seek individual glory but are
united for the betterment of all. That's why they call it a
union.
The name "Union Labor Plaza" honors all people who
anonymously do work we take for granted but which makes the
world go'round. It also honors advancements in the workplace
brought about by labor unions for the benefit of all Americans.
I commend the Omaha City Council for having the decency to
finally honor common people who obey the law, pay their taxes
and work, live and die in obscurity. These people, too, made
this city what it is today. It's high time they were recognized. |
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