The rich history of Maine’s labor movement flows through the state like its mighty rivers. Only a few people, however, know it well enough to navigate these sometimes-turbulent waters.

That’s why the Greater Bangor Area-Central Labor Council decided to create a mural that visually would tell the saga of Maine’s working men and women. The outdoor painting, which covers two adjacent walls, was completed this week. It is scheduled be unveiled officially Monday at the labor council’s headquarters in Brewer.

“The mural begins in 1636, when the first labor stoppage occurred in North America off Richmond Island [south of Cape Elizabeth] when fishermen who hadn’t been paid in six months organized to gain pay,” stated GBA-GLC President Jack McKay in a press release.

“This mural portrays crucial historical events, such as the fight against child labor in the early part of the 20th century,” he said. “This mural tells the history of the great contributions of labor like the weekend [establishment of a 40-hour workweek], Social Security and child labor laws.”

Representatives from more than 60 locals representing 21 unions contributed ideas for the design of the 600-square-foot mural, which partially was funded by a grant from the Arts and Humanities Communities Program sponsored by the Maine Arts Commission and the Maine Humanities Council.

Penobscot Paint of Bangor donated the latex paint used to paint the mural, and dozens of people earlier this month applied paint to the wall, making it look like a giant paint-by-number picture.

The idea to create a timeline idea arose from a brainstorming session held with union members 18 months ago.

“First we contacted people through fliers, e-mails, telephone calls to let people know about the project,” said project organizer Kirsten Reberg-Horton. “Then we had a series of open meetings where labor leaders and activists brainstormed and discussed what they would like to see in a mural. Next, we sent out the vision to artists in our community. In June, a group of labor leaders decided on the winning mural design.”

Jesse Cross, a 2000 graduate of the Maine College of Art in Portland, submitted the winning design concept. The 26-year-old resident of East Orland said that the most challenging part of the project was doing the research. The artist was determined to work as much as possible from photographs to illustrate the events depicted in what would be her first outdoor mural

Images from photographs taken during the late 1800s of the Laconia-Pepperell textile mill in Biddeford, a 1905 Labor Day parade in Lewiston, the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and a job protest staged last year in Bangor were included in the final design.

In all, Cross spent about 100 hours researching and designing the mural.

“I’ve learned so much about the labor movement just from this project,” said the artist who has no family ties to the unions. “They [members of the labor council] wanted to keep a positive slant on the gains of labor throughout years and keep it people-oriented. It’s been really important to me to keep the impact of the mural more empowering and less hierarchical than so much of the history we learn [in school].”

While Cross worked on the design, Reberg-Horton, 31, of Old Town, contacted artists with the city of Boston’s mural program to learn how to prepare the walls for the mural and preserve it against the harsh New England winters.

First dirt piled up along one wall had to be removed. Then, Reberg-Horton, Cross and others power- washed the walls before sealing the cracks !and filling in uneven sections. Next, a solvent was used to cover about one third of the mural space that was cracked and crumbling. Then, it was painted with a cement-wall primer before Cross used an overhead projector to copy her original drawings onto the wall and number sections to show where the 22 colors should be applied. Finally, a sealant was painted over the mural to protect it from dirt and to keep the paint from loosening.

“The most challenging part of the project was just the physical reality of working outside and trying to make this happen,” said the project organizer. “The most exciting thing has been seeing the community come together, share their vision and see that vision become a reality.”

Darryl Parker, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, Branch 391, painted the section that depicts the 1970 Postal Reorganization Act that allowed workers to unionize. Taken from a photograph that showed letter carriers walking down the steps of the U.S. Capitol in their uniforms, Parker mixed paints to get the right shade of blue in the uniforms of 30 years ago.

The 55-year-old Winterport resident said that he hopes the mural will inspire people to stand up for their rights as working men and women.

“Personally, when I see the mural, I take away the concept that the average working man and woman should be involved rather than let those in government toss them around,” Parker said. “Working families need to stand up for themselves and we can do that together. I would hope that anybody who looks at it sees that it’s a depiction of people from all walks of life getting together to make an impact.”

He pointed out that the mural not only commemorates the positive accomplishments of unions, such as the annual food drive sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service, but also depicts the negative impacts of strikes and treaties including the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Reberg-Horton estimated that the mural would not need major maintenance for about eight years and wouldn’t need to be repainted for 15 years.

“This mural represents the realities, opinions, fears, hopes and dreams of thousands of workers in our region,” she said. “As such, it tells the story of the working people in our community.”

A Labor Day celebration of the completion of the Labor Heritage Mural will be held at 4 p.m. Monday at the Labor Temple, 20 Ayer St., Brewer. Rain date is 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 8. For information, call 989-4141.