[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 12 (Tuesday, January 30, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E45-E46]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   IN HONOR OF ALICE OSTROW RENT CONTROL AND UNION ACTIVIST, ON HER 
                                PASSING

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 30, 2001

  Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, today I pay tribute to Alice 
Ostrow, a longtime union supporter and housing activist, who passed 
away on January 4, 2001. Ms. Ostrow, a onetime Socialist candidate for 
Congress in New Jersey's 12th Congressional District, was a cofounder 
of the Textile Workers' Organizing Committee. In her capacity as a 
union leader, Ms. Ostrow served as an effective and compassionate 
leader throughout the organized labor movement of the 20th Century.
  Alice Ostrow was born in Philadelphia in 1915, honed her leadership 
skills as class president at South Philadelphia High School, and 
attended Strousberg State Teachers' College. Pushing aside the 
limitations American society placed upon women, she began her foray 
into politics when she joined the Philadelphia Chapter of the Young 
Peoples' Socialist League.

[[Page E46]]

  Throughout her career, Ms. Ostrow worked for the IRS, served as a 
legislative representative of the Federation of Federal Employees, and 
worked for the Communications Workers of America. In the late 1940s and 
1950s, during the birth of rent control, Ms. Ostrow organized the group 
New jersey Tenants for Rent Control and fought for tenants' rights for 
many years afterwards.
  After moving to Burlington, Vermont in 1955, Ms. Ostrow became 
involved in numerous local liberal organizations, including the Vermont 
ACLU. After her husband's death in 1967, she moved to my district in 
New York City, where she became heavily involved in the NAACP, the 
ACLU, the Workers Defense League, and Americans for Democratic Action.
  Even in her 80s, Ms. Ostrow was a tireless activist for the rights of 
the elderly, poor, oppressed, and otherwise downtrodden. She traveled 
to the New York State Capitol in Albany to lobby for tenant rights. She 
also staffed a homeless center and circulated political petitions.
  A vibrant and caring woman who viewed public service in the same 
regard as Robert F. Kennedy--she ``saw wrong and tried to right it.'' I 
am confident that her legacy will continue through the many individuals 
she personally touched during her extraordinary life.

                          ____________________