The Delaware County Democratic Party has lost a true friend and
supporter. Martin Berger, of Haverford, passed away on Sunday, June 18,
2006 of Cancer.
Marty was a lifelong union activist and president of the Pennsylvania Alliance for Retired Americans. On May 16, he was re-elected to a second term as a member of the Delaware County delegation to the Pennsylvania Democratic State Committee. An endorsed candidate, he received the highest number of votes of all 15 candidates on the ballot. Marty was also a former chairman of the Haverford Township Democratic Committee.
Marty helped found the Pennsylvania Alliance for Retired Americans in 2002. The grassroots organization represents more than 250,000 senior activists and union retirees in Pennsylvania and is affiliated with the Alliance for Retired Americans, which represents three million retirees.
The Pennsylvania alliance was among the groups that were active in the campaign to oppose President Bush's attempt to partially privatize Social Security in 2005. The alliance led the support for Gov. Rendell's expansion of PACE/PaceNet prescription-drug coverage for seniors in 2004, and last year, the governor appointed Mr. Berger to the Pennsylvania Council of Aging.
In the 1990s, he was a consultant to the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, encouraging retired union members to stay involved with their unions. "The unions have had a tremendous loss of membership in recent years," he told a reporter in 1996. "Retirees are filling the ranks, walking picket lines, walking boycott lines, handing out leaflets, and helping organize the unorganized."
Priot to coming to Pennsylvania, Marty grew up in the Lower East Side in Manhattan and in the Bronx. After graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, he became an organizer for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU).
He spent years persuading workers in textile mills in the South to join the ILGWU, said his wife, Helen Bronstein Berger. He eventually held ILGWU leadership positions, including national director of associate membership and union privilege benefits, and assistant director for the Northeast, Western Pennsylvania and Ohio Department. The ILGWU later merged with other unions to become UNITE HERE.
Marty was also vice president of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO. "Marty Berger never quit working for the labor movement and the working people of Pennsylvania," said Pennsylvania AFL-CIO president William George. "His energy and leadership have helped millions of workers achieve a better life for their families."
According to Helen, he loved classical music and his favorite composer was Gustav Mahler. He followed the careers of orchestra conductors. Marty and Helen had been longtime subscribers to the Philadelphia Orchestra.
In addition to his wife of 29 years, Mr. Berger is survived by a son, Warren; stepchildren Jan Epstein, Nancy Kurtzman and Adam Bronstein; a brother; five grandchildren; and his former wife, Phoebe Berger, and an untold number of friends in the Democratic Party who will miss his dedication, loyalty and steadfast friendship.
A memorial service for Marty will be held at the Suburban Jewish Community Center Bnai Aaron, 560 Mill Road, Havertown, PA 19083, on Friday, June 23 at 10:30 AM.
Helen has requested that, in lieu of flowers, contributions should be made to Jewish Family & Children's Service Of Greater Philadelphia, 133 Coulter Avenue, Ardmore, PA 19003.
Much of the above information was re-printed from The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Marty was a lifelong union activist and president of the Pennsylvania Alliance for Retired Americans. On May 16, he was re-elected to a second term as a member of the Delaware County delegation to the Pennsylvania Democratic State Committee. An endorsed candidate, he received the highest number of votes of all 15 candidates on the ballot. Marty was also a former chairman of the Haverford Township Democratic Committee.
Marty helped found the Pennsylvania Alliance for Retired Americans in 2002. The grassroots organization represents more than 250,000 senior activists and union retirees in Pennsylvania and is affiliated with the Alliance for Retired Americans, which represents three million retirees.
The Pennsylvania alliance was among the groups that were active in the campaign to oppose President Bush's attempt to partially privatize Social Security in 2005. The alliance led the support for Gov. Rendell's expansion of PACE/PaceNet prescription-drug coverage for seniors in 2004, and last year, the governor appointed Mr. Berger to the Pennsylvania Council of Aging.
In the 1990s, he was a consultant to the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, encouraging retired union members to stay involved with their unions. "The unions have had a tremendous loss of membership in recent years," he told a reporter in 1996. "Retirees are filling the ranks, walking picket lines, walking boycott lines, handing out leaflets, and helping organize the unorganized."
Priot to coming to Pennsylvania, Marty grew up in the Lower East Side in Manhattan and in the Bronx. After graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, he became an organizer for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU).
He spent years persuading workers in textile mills in the South to join the ILGWU, said his wife, Helen Bronstein Berger. He eventually held ILGWU leadership positions, including national director of associate membership and union privilege benefits, and assistant director for the Northeast, Western Pennsylvania and Ohio Department. The ILGWU later merged with other unions to become UNITE HERE.
Marty was also vice president of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO. "Marty Berger never quit working for the labor movement and the working people of Pennsylvania," said Pennsylvania AFL-CIO president William George. "His energy and leadership have helped millions of workers achieve a better life for their families."
According to Helen, he loved classical music and his favorite composer was Gustav Mahler. He followed the careers of orchestra conductors. Marty and Helen had been longtime subscribers to the Philadelphia Orchestra.
In addition to his wife of 29 years, Mr. Berger is survived by a son, Warren; stepchildren Jan Epstein, Nancy Kurtzman and Adam Bronstein; a brother; five grandchildren; and his former wife, Phoebe Berger, and an untold number of friends in the Democratic Party who will miss his dedication, loyalty and steadfast friendship.
A memorial service for Marty will be held at the Suburban Jewish Community Center Bnai Aaron, 560 Mill Road, Havertown, PA 19083, on Friday, June 23 at 10:30 AM.
Helen has requested that, in lieu of flowers, contributions should be made to Jewish Family & Children's Service Of Greater Philadelphia, 133 Coulter Avenue, Ardmore, PA 19003.
Much of the above information was re-printed from The Philadelphia Inquirer.