Labor Hall of Fame Inducts Local 3’s 
Harry Van Arsdale

March 2002 IBEW Journal

Harry Van Arsdale, Jr., one of the most innovative leaders in U.S. labor history, was inducted into Labor’s International Hall of Fame by the AFL-CIO during its December 2001 convention. Selections for the Hall are made by a board from the National Labor College and the George Meany Center for Labor Studies.

The Hall of Fame cited his breakthroughs in training and civil rights under the creative collective bargaining agreements of IBEW Local 3, New York, New York, where Van Arsdale became business manager in 1933. His visionary leadership led to his election as IBEW International Treasurer and New York City AFL-CIO president, through which his innovations had an impact across the nation. He died in 1986.

In 1950, Van Arsdale bought 314 acres in Long Island as an education center for Local 3 members. He also began minority participation in apprenticeship training, which became the model for a national outreach program when the rest of the nation caught up with Van Arsdale and passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Hall of Fame committee also cited Van Arsdale’s method of saving jobs during the 1930s Depression by bargaining constantly shorter workdays.

Inducted with Van Arsdale were Bessie Abramovitz-Hillman of UNITE! (then the Amalgamated Clothing Workers), Father Albert Blatz of AFSCME and Harold J. Gibbons of the Teamsters.

Harry Van Arsdale