WHEREAS, On Saturday, November 21, 2020 the City of Philadelphia and the labor movement lost a giant with the passing of James Moran at the age of 81; and
WHEREAS, Born in 1939 and raised in Kensington
,
Mr. Moran dedicated his life to fighting for the health and safety of working people. Mr. Moran was a lifelong union member in several unions including
ACTWU, IUE, USWA, IBT, UAW, and CWA, and served as the Chairman of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Labor Party
; and
WHEREAS, In 1975, Mr. Moran and his wife Aggie were instrumental in the founding of the Philadelphia Area Project for Occupational Safety and Health (PhilaPOSH). PhilaPOSH was the second organization of its kind in the country dedicated to organizing workers around worker health and safety. PhilaPOSH’s mission statement is “the prevention of injury, disease and death on the job through information, education, technical assistance and political action.” For workers who don't belong to unions, PhilaPOSH is one of the only available resources for addressing health and safety issues; and
WHEREAS, For 25 years, Mr. Moran served as the Executive Director PhilaPOSH. After his retirement in 2005, he served as Director Emeritus until his passing. He was a progressive trade unionist who inspired labor leaders throughout the region to mobilize and organize their union members around health and safety; and
WHEREAS, In 1981, Mr. Moran successfully lobbied Philadelphia City Council to pass a Right-to-Know law that required companies to disclose if they were using certain toxic chemicals, despite fierce opposition from the chemical company Rohm & Haas. At the time, it was the strongest reporting law in the country
; and
WHEREAS, In 2011, Jim was elected to the PhillyCAM board of directors. During his time on the board Jim was an advocate for the launch of WPPM 106.5 FM, a low power radio station as an opportunity to offer another platform to share news and information about the labor movement. In 2017 he and his co-host Charles Clarke began producing the weekly public affairs program Labor Justice Radio; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Moran facilitated the creation of two major parades in Philadelphia. In 1988, he revived the Philadelphia Labor Day Parade and created the Workers Memorial Day Parade, which honors workers killed on job sites. He also served on the local board of the Pennsylvania Labor History Society and Newspaper Guild (Communications Workers of America, CWA Local 38010).
WHEREAS, As a member of "The Originals" pool team (American Poolplayers Association), Mr. Moran could be found shooting out of the Andalusia Bar and Grill. He also served as Sergeant at Arms for the Veteran Boxers Association
; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, Mr. Moran is preceded in death by his wife of 49 years, Agnes ‘Aggie’ Moran. Mrs. Moran was a PhilaPOSH employee and an IBEW shop steward at Progress Lighting before retiring after 17 years. Mr. Moran is survived by his son,
James P. Moran, Jr., and daughter Audrey Daniel; grandchildren Jimmy, Buster, Stacey, Melissa, Dana, and Eddie; 9 great grandchildren, and sister Patricia.
End