[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 127 (Tuesday, September 16, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1801]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO MOE BILLER

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 16, 2003

  Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
a friend, Moe Biller, former president of the American Postal Workers 
Union, who passed away last Friday.
  Morris ``Moe'' Biller headed APWU for more than twenty years, 
fighting for the workers he represented. From his beginnings as a part-
time clerk to eventually becoming president of the APWU, Moe committed 
himself to helping those who were underrepresented.
  Born November 15, 1915, Moe attended high school and college in New 
York City. In 1937, he began his postal career on the Lower East Side 
of Manhattan. Making less than one dollar per hour with no vacation 
benefits or sick pay, Moe was committed to his job and to improving 
conditions for his fellow employees.
  He held several positions including chairman of the Membership 
Committee, Sergeant-at-Arms, and Executive Vice-President before being 
elected as president of the Manhattan-Bronx Postal Workers Union in 
1959. In 1971, Moe served on the committee that oversaw the merger of 
the five postal unions that now comprise the APWU. An early supporter 
of civil rights, Moe championed the cause of greater equality for women 
in the workplace. He was also a longtime member of the Coalition of 
Labor Union Women and the NAACP.
  Moe's other achievements include serving on the New York City Central 
Labor Council, the Executive Council of the AFL-CIO, the labor 
federation's Public Employee Department, and the Executive Committee of 
the Postal, Telegraph and Telephone International. He also served on 
the boards of several charitable and civic organizations, including the 
Muscular Dystrophy Association, United Way International, the National 
Advisory Council to the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, and 
the Federal Executive Committee of the Combined Federal Campaign.
  Among his many accolades were the 1979 Community Service Award from 
the New York City Central Labor Council, the 1982 Spirit of Life Award 
from the City of Hope National Medical Center, the 1999 Ellis Island 
Medal of Honor, and the 1999 Lower East Side Tenement Museum Urban 
Pioneer Award.
  Moe's spirit will always be strong in those who knew him, and in 
those whose lives he touched but who never had the opportunity to meet 
him. Through Moe's life, we all benefit from his tireless efforts to 
help those who could not help themselves.
  I express my deepest condolences to his family during this difficult 
time.
  Thank you.

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