INDIANAPOLIS —
It’s not uncommon to see lawmakers in the Statehouse sporting American flag pins on their coat lapels.
In recent weeks, many have added a second lapel pin which carries the official logo of the 2012 Super Bowl. The game is set to be played Feb. 5 in a stadium just shoutin’ distance from the Statehouse.
That pin is just a little memento of the glory that’s supposed to come Indiana’s way, but it may quickly morph into a symbol of something much different.
The dysfunctional politics in the Indiana Statehouse are spilling over into the game, creating headlines that Super Bowl boosters would rather not see.
The culprit is the contentious right-to-work legislation that outlaws mandatory union dues for private-sector workers.
The Republicans who control the Statehouse want it fast-tracked, out of the way before national news crews descend on the capital city.
Democrats have been doing their best to slow it down and escalate attention to the fight by staging no-shows on the House floor.
The latter are getting a boost from a noteworthy source of support: The National Football League Players Association, whose members staged their own work stoppage in 2011 — one that threatened to kill the season and cancel the 2012 Super Bowl.
A couple of weeks ago, the NFLPA issued a strong statement denouncing the legislation as “a political ploy designed to destroy basic workers’ rights.” The NFLPA took a swipe at GOP leaders in the Statehouse, describing them as politicians out to destroy the exemplary teamwork of Indianapolis Super Bowl volunteers and boosters by trying to “ram through” the bill.
NFLPA president DeMaurice Smith took it up another notch last week in an interview with a writer with The Nation, a political magazine with a distinctly left bent.
Smith said NFL players were in “lock step with organized labor” on its opposition to the bill and raised the possibility that his members might be willing to leverage their fame to upstage the championship game.
“We’ve been on picket lines in Indianapolis already with hotel workers who were basically pushed to the point of breaking on the hotel rooms that they had to clean because they were not union workers,” he said. “We’ve been on picket lines in Boston and San Antonio. So, the idea of participating in a legal protest is something that we’ve done before.”
But would they do it if it detracts from the spectacle of the big game?
“We’ll have to see what is going to go on when we’re there,” he told the Nation writer. “(B)ut issues like this are incredibly important to us.”
Maureen Hayden covers the Statehouse for the CNHI newspapers in Indiana. She can be reached at maureen.hayden@indianamediagroup.com.
Recent Local News
Related Photos
-
Maureen Hayden
Discussion
HAYDEN: NFLPA denounces right-to-work legislation just before Super Bowl
- Recent Local News
-
-
SWEET TREAT: Volunteers see the attraction of annual Starlight Strawberry Festival
-
Board chair: Parks district best solution for New Albany and Floyd County
Mayor Jeff Gahan’s veto of a new parks deal between the city and county was upheld earlier this month by the New Albany City Council. While the Floyd County Council agreed to still pay an additional $100,000 toward the parks department for the remainder of the year, the city and county remain under a prior agreement that led to funding discrepancies in the past.
-
THE 'V' WORD: SUB: Prosser Career Education Center moves away from stigma of ‘vocational’ school
- TARC sets Memorial Day and Kennedy Bridge route changes
- Indiana man releases hostages, fatally shoots self
-
Vietnam veteran receives medals 46 years after active duty ends
- More travelers to hit the road this Memorial Day weekend
-
Pence talks bridges, jobs during Southern Indiana swing
“I think everyone senses with the recent bridges agreement, the potential for extraordinary growth,” said Mike Pence, a U.S. House member who is seeking to replace Gov. Mitch Daniels and retain the gubernatorial seat for the Republican Party.
- Police: Gunman has hostages in Indiana realty office
-
Delaware woman dies in I-65 crash
-
Collingsworth Family to perform at Silver Heights Retreat Center in New Albany
The Collingsworth Family will be making a return trip to the Silver Heights Retreat and Camp Center in New Albany on Thursday, June 7.
-
Clark County approves self-insurance plan
Clark County Insurance Agent-of-Record Diane Swank presented health insurance renewal options at the council meeting Monday, but the county’s fiscal body decided to recess its meeting in order to review a proposal to move the county to a self-insured plan.
-
New theater directors at NAHS and FCHS ready for their programs
As the curtain falls on the careers of the teachers who put the theater programs of Floyd Central and New Albany high schools on the map, the new blood coming in have big hopes for the programs they’re taking over.
-
Jeff to start enforcing insurance ordinances
A 2004 ordinance that dictates how much city retirees pay for health insurance – ignored for years by Jeffersonville officials – looks like it will now be enforced.
-
Top Gun showing Saturday at the New Albany riverfront
In honor of Memorial Day, the city of New Albany will show the movie “Top Gun” on its new 40-foot screen at the Riverfront Amphitheater Saturday.
- More Recent Local News Headlines
-
