A Lion and a Pussycat

When 2003 comes to an end, I hope somebody will take the time to note the recent passing of a postal legend.

Morris “Moe” Biller served for as long as any postmaster general might care to remember as the president of this nation's largest postal union, the American Postal Workers Union (APWU). I met Moe not long after I accepted the job as the Third Class Mail Association's (now the Association for Postal Commerce) chief staff executive. I had heard plenty from my postal colleagues about Moe even before I met him.

Moe had been described to me as someone who was “ceaselessly irascible,” “a gadfly,” “the chief postal monkey wrench,” and more. When I finally met Moe, I learned that, at times, he was all these things. But I also came to learn quickly that Moe was much more than that.

The guy I had gotten to know over the past 20 years was someone who cared deeply and passionately about the welfare of the union members he served and the postal service for which they worked. At times, this meant that Moe and mailers found themselves on opposite sides of the fence. A closer look, however, often revealed that they both had much in common.

Mailers care passionately about the need for a universal postal system. So did Moe. Mailers believe that mail could serve as a useful engine for American commerce. So did Moe. Mailers (at least the one's I've gotten to know through PostCom) believe that postal workers are dedicated, hard workers who deserve a decent wage for a day's work. So did Moe.

Moe could be generous and sweet-hearted. He also was someone who could change a congressman's outlook on a postal question before sundown of the next Sabbath.

He even shared something more personal with me: We both were born on Nov. 5. Moe always dealt with me with the greatest respect. He knew there were times I could become a thorn in his side, but he understood why I did what I did. And, for the most part, I showed him the same courtesy.

Moe was a lion of a man, but he also was a pussycat. His presence in the American postal community will be sorely missed. But I can hear him now trying to instruct the Archangel Gabriel on how to get heaven's postal system in better working order.

GENE A. DEL POLITO is president of the Association for Postal Commerce (PostCom) in Arlington, VA.