Public Employee Press

NAACP lauds Local 371's Moore

The New York branch of the NAACP honored SSEU Local 371 President Faye Moore as a "contributor to the cause of freedom and justice" at its annual celebration June 11.

The organization praised Moore for leading an ongoing battle to protect workers' jobs and benefits, public social services and the civil service merit system.

Moore was elected president of Social Service Employees Union Local 371 in May 2008. A Caseworker, she joined the 17,000-member local's staff in 1993 and was elected vice president of grievances and legal services in 1994.

In a speech at the annual Freedom Fund Dinner-Dance, Annie B. Martin, president of the New York National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, cited the "time-honored tradition of collaboration" between the civil rights and labor movements.

Martin referred to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who in 1961 said, "Our needs are identical with labor's needs: decent wages, fair working conditions, livable housing, old age security, health and welfare measures, conditions in which families can grow and have education for their children and respect in the community."

Also in June, City Hall, a twice-monthly publication that targets politicians, lobbyists and unions, named Moore one of New York City's 12 "most effective" labor leaders.