Elijah Decious at The Cedar Rapids, Iowa Gazette reports after 75 years of holding her torch high, Cedar Rapids’ replica Lady Liberty is getting a helping hand. The City’s first public statue was installed in 1950 by the Boy Scouts of America in a Strengthening the Arm of Liberty Campaign that placed about 200 Statue of Liberty replicas around the country. Earlier this year, local Labor Unions were tasked with strengthening a more literal arm. Recent repairs, completed over the last six months by Sheet Metal Apprentices at SMART (Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation) Local 263 and Painter Apprentices at the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) Local 117, are the third time the local paragon of freedom has been restored. Later this year, the statue will be reinstalled at its new location in Cedar Rapids City Hall, where shelter from the elements will better preserve it. In May, 15 SMART Apprentices started the restoration process with Instructors putting in more than100 hours of work to restore extensive vandalism. This is the statue’s third time being repaired since it was installed 75 years ago. Its last two restorations were in 2011 and 1985. For the first time this year, nine IUPAT Apprentices and their Instructors from Local 117 joined restoration efforts. In years past, restoration efforts were led by SMART Retirees. This time, the effort was a learning opportunity for Apprentices led by Instructors and knowledge imbued by Sheet Metal Retiree Gary Myers.

To Continue Reading This Labor News Report, Go To: Statue of Liberty replica plans return to new Cedar Rapids location after unions repair vandalism | The Gazette