Harry Van Arsdale, Jr.

Who was Harry Van Arsdale, Jr.?

Harry Van Arsdale, Jr. was a labor and community leader in New York City. At the age of 28 he rose to the leadership of Union Local 3 of the IBEW, a labor union for electrical workers. He eventually served as a leader of the Building Trades Council in New York City, and was the first President of the AFL-CIO Central Labor Council in New York City. He held this post from its formation in 1958 until his death in 1986.

During Van Arsdale's tenure as Business Manager of his union and the CLC, he introduced employer-funded pension systems in the building trades and created a community for electrical workers and their families to live called Electchester in Queens, New York. He also was responsible for the organization of the taxi drivers in New York City and was a driving force in organizing hospital workers in the city. The hospital workers union, SEIU 1199, later became one of the single largest unions in the city with over 100,000 members.

Van Arsdale is also known for integrating minorities into the ranks of the labor movement in New York and for his friendships with powerful politicians, most notably with Governor Nelson Rockefeller and Mayor Wagner.