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Harry Van Arsdale Jr.: Labor's Champion
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Comments/Reviews
Description: Harry Van Arsdale Jr. (1905-1986) was a towering figure in the New York labor scene. After becoming business manager of Local 3 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in 1925, he fought for and won shorter work days in order to give more men a chance to work during the Great Depression. He instituted paid vactions, paid holidays, annuity plans, and educational opportunities for his workers -- all revolutionary concepts in their ime that are now largely taken for granted. He became president of the New York City Labor Council in 1957, which put him in a position of even greater influence on labor relations both locally and nationally. But more than his individual achievements, his sincere commitment to improving the lives of American workers and their families made him a truly beloved figure.
This fascinating memoir focuses on Van Arsdale's 60-plus years as a union member and powerful labor figure, and on the lasting mark he left on the labor scene.
Selected Contents:
Foreword by Theodore Kheel
Preface
A Tribute by Christopher Erikson
Acknowledgements
Photograghs follow page 121
1. From Revolutionary War to Hell's Kitchen
2. Making His Mark: The Early Struggles in Local Union 3
3. A Fight to the Top
4. Dealing with the New Deal
5. Growing Pains
6. Battles on Many Fronts
7. America at War
8. The Working Man and Woman: Learning and Compassion
9."Mister Labor"
10. United Federation of Teachers and the Brotherhood Party
11. Troubleshooting Here and Abroad
12. Van Arsdale at the Wheel
13. A Wider Garden to Tend
14. The Kid Goes Down Fighting
Afterword by Hy Greenblatt
Notes
Index
About the Author
Comment(s): "Harry Van Arsdale, Jr. was an electric force in the life of New York City for a half century and more. He was everywhere, doing almost everything. He never stopped caring for his brother workers -- the Brotherhood -- and for the City they helped make the greatest on earth. Yes, he is missed. But more, he is remembered and revered." -- Daniel Patrick Moynihan
"As a no-nonsense negotiator concerned with improving workers' wages and lives, an integral part of shaping New York's civic strength and an unflagging advocate of civil rights, Harry Van Arsdale Jr.'s life story is a lesson in what it takes to make a great labor leader." -- AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney
"The biography of Harry Van Arsdale Jr., a unique labor leader who influenced developments in New York City for more than half a century, is recommended reading not only for New Yorkers but for labor union and community activists, business managers and elected officials everywhere. His pioneering record of innovation in workers benefits, housing, education and international exchange and his role in effecting union-management cooperation in his industry and in relation to critical issues facing New York City suggest models for other organizations and communities which are highly relevant to today's world." -- Lois Gray, Jean McKelvey-Alice Grant Professor of Labor Management Relations, Emeritus, Cornell University
Review(s): Reading this book...one cannot help but be overwhelmed by the vision, tenacity, dedication, inegrity, and ultimately the accomplishments of this truly astonishing labor leader. ... This book leaves no doubt that Van Arsdale's reputation as labor's champion is well deserved. But he was more than that: he was and is a champion and role model for the entire human race... Industrial and Labor Relations Review
    
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