Harry Van Arsdale Jr. (November 23, 1905 – February 16, 1986) was a labor and community leader in New York City. His father was a union electrician. Van Arsdale was descendant from 17th century Dutch immigrants to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and a descendant of John Van Arsdale, a Colonial army veteran of the American Revolutionary War, who climbed up a greased flagpole to retrieve a Union Jack flag which still flew during the evacuation of the British from New York. Van Arsdale was also related to noted historian

James Riker James Riker (New York City, May 11, 1822 – 1889) was a New York historian and genealogist. His father, James Riker (Snr) was a merchant and landowner descended from early Dutch settlers. Riker left school at the age of sixteen to work in his f ...

.Ruffini, Gene and Kheel, Theodore. ''Harry Van Arsdale, Jr.: Labor's Champion'' (2015). At the age of 28 he rose to the leadership of Union Local 3 of the IBEW, a

labor union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

for electricians. He eventually served as a leader of the Building Trades Council in New York City, and was the first President of the

New York City Central Labor Council New York City Central Labor Council (NYCCLC) is the largest local labor membership organization under the direction of the national AFL–CIO. Founded in 1959 the NYCCLC represents over 400 local New York City unions in both the public and private ...

(NYCCLC) AFL-CIO in New York City. He held this post from its formation in 1958 until his death in 1986. He was also a civil rights leader who met with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. During Van Arsdale's tenure as Business Manager of his union and the NYCCLC, he introduced employer-funded

pension A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payments ...

systems in the building trades and created a community for electrical workers and their families to live called

Electchester Pomonok is a working class neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. This large public housing development in South Flushing was built in 1949 on the former site of Pomonok Country Club. The name comes from a Native American word for ...

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. Today the

(NYCCLC) is the largest local labor membership organization under the direction of the national AFL-CIO. Founded in 1959 the NYCCLC represents over 400 local New York City unions in both the public and private sectors of the New York economy. The

is a non-profit labor membership organization devoted to supporting, advancing and advocating for its member organizations and all 'working class' people of New York City. Of the 11 million total workers represented by the AFL-CIO, the

alone represents close to 15% of its total membership.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Arsdale, Harry Jr. 1905 births 1986 deaths American people of Dutch descent Activists from New York City American trade unionists