Morris "Moe" Biller (November 5, 1915 – September 5, 2003) was an American labor union leader. Born in Manhattan, Biller was educated at

Seward Park High School __NOTOC__ The Seward Park Campus is a "vertical campus" of the New York City Department of Education located at 350 Grand Street at the corner of Essex Street, in the Lower East Side/Cooperative Village neighborhoods of Manhattan, New York City. ...

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...

and

City College City college may refer to: In the United States * Community college, a type of educational institution sometimes called a ''junior college'' or a ''city college'' in the United States * City College of New York ** 137th Street – City College (IR ...

, before in 1937 becoming a substitute post office clerk. Within days, he was fired for a mistake which he had not made, but managed to secure his reinstatement. This experience inspired him to join the

National Federation of Post Office Clerks The National Federation of Post Office Clerks (NFPOC) was a labor union representing clerks working in post offices in the United States. History At the start of the 20th century, the main union of post office clerks was the United National Associ ...

, and he managed to negotiate sick pay for workers at his office. During World War II, Biller served in the Army Adjutant General Corps, then in 1945 he returned to his job. He gradually rose to prominent in the union, becoming president of his local in 1959. In 1970, members of the National Association of Letter Carriers in New York launched the

U.S. postal strike of 1970 The U.S. postal strike of 1970 was an eight-day strike by federal postal workers in March 1970. The strike began in New York City and spread to some other cities in the following two weeks. This strike against the federal government, regarded a ...

. This was the first major strike of postal workers in the United States, given that they were legally barred from taking strike action. Biller ruled that members of his union should not cross the letter carriers' picket lines, and in this way, he came to national prominence. The strike ended after eight days, and led to major gains for post office workers. In 1971, the clerks' union merged into the new

American Postal Workers' Union The American Postal Workers Union (APWU) is a labor union in the United States. It represents over 200,000 employees and retirees of the United States Postal Service who belong to the Clerk, Maintenance, Motor Vehicle, and Support Services divis ...

, and Biller was appointed as its north east regional co-ordinator. He backed a four-day strike of workers at a mail center in New Jersey in 1974, and organized demonstrations aimed to bolster workers' position during contract negotiations in 1978. Biller was elected as president of the union in 1980, in which role he negotiated several contracts which led to increased wages for members. He worked closely with the letter carriers, and he successfully campaigned against Sears Roebuck being permitted to handle some post office business. He retired in 2001, and died two years later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biller, Moe 1915 births 2003 deaths American trade union leaders People from Manhattan Trade unionists from New York (state) Vice presidents of the AFL–CIO