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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: (202) 371-6422
Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman will make her first official
appearance at the Labor Hall of Fame at 4 p.m. Thursday, January 29, to
posthumously honor David A. Morse, longtime director-general of the
International Labor Organization (ILO).
Morse, who headed the ILO from 1948 to 1970, also served as under
secretary of labor in 1947 to 1948. He was named by President Truman to be
acting secretary upon the death of Secretary Lewis Schwellenbach in 1948.
Morse had already been nominated to head the ILO and chose that instead
of remaining as secretary.
Morse, who died in 1990, was chosen over some 26 nominees by the Labor
Hall of Fame selection panel, which includes members from labor, industry,
government and academia.
The Labor Hall of Fame, located in the lobby of the Labor Department's
Frances Perkins Building in Washington, D.C., traditionally posthumously honors
outstanding Americans who have performed notable services for working men and
women. Morse will become the 22nd person to be honored.
In 1969, the ILO received the Nobel Prize for Peace, largely because of
the work of Morse, who was noted for contributions toward improving conditions
for workers throughout the world.
Other speakers at the ceremony honoring Morse in the Frances Perkins
Building Auditorium include:
- Philip Kaiser, former ambassador to Austria, Hungary, Senegal and
Mauritania and also a former assistant secretary of labor.
- Katherine Hegan, deputy director-general of the ILO.
- Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi of California.
- Monsignor George G. Higgins of Catholic University, chairman of the
Labor Hall of Fame selection panel, and
- W.J. Usery Jr., a former secretary of labor and chairman of the
Friends of the Department of Labor, which supports the Labor Hall of Fame with
the Labor Department.
Richard Conn, executive director of the Labor Hall of Fame, will
welcome guests, including Mildred Morse, David Morse's widow.
Morse was born in New York and was a graduate of Rutgers University in
New Jersey. He was a Harvard Law School graduate and was admitted to the New
Jersey Bar.
His career in government began with his appointment as special assistant
to the attorney general during the Roosevelt Administration. He also held posts
with the Interior Department and National Labor Relations Board.
He served with the Army during World War II and was instrumental in
formulating labor policies for the military governments in North Africa,
Sicily, Italy and Germany. He was awarded the Army's Legion of Merit for his
service.
Following his retirement from the ILO, Morse practiced international law
with the firm of Jones, Day, Reavis and Pogue in New York and Washington.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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