AFL-CIO. New York City Central Labor Council

The AFL-CIO New York Central Labor Council (NYC CLC) had its origin in the Central Trades and Labor Council of Greater New York, a federation of New York City area unions affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. The CTLC was chartered by the AFL in 1920 and existed until it merged with the New York City CIO Council in 1959. Harry Van Arsdale Jr., Business Manager of the International Brotherhood of Electricians Local 3, became president of the Council in 1957 and served in that office until his death in 1986, when he was succeeded by his son Thomas Van Arsdale. During the Van Arsdales tenure the Council campaigned to organize taxicab drivers, set up committees to further the interest of Latino and African-American workers, helped to found a worker education program (the Center for Labor Studies, at Empire State College, SUNY), mobilized the labor movement to confront the Citys fiscal crisis of the late 1970s, and generally worked to foster a spirit of solidarity throughout the many disparate sectors of the New York City labor movement. These efforts were continued in succeeding years, under the leadership of Council president Brian M. McLaughlin (elected in 1995), another Electricians union veteran, and secretary Ted H. Jacobsen, of the United Federation of Teachers.

The Central Trades and Labor Council of the American Federation of Labor merged with the New York City Congress of Industrial Organizations Council on February 19, 1959 to form the New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO. This followed the December 9, 1958 New York State merger of the AFL and the CIO.

The New York City Central Labor Council only acts on local activities and concerns. It issues no statements against AFL-CIO policy and will not interfere with local affiliates and their parent organizations.

The Council is an organization comprised of over 500 local union affiliates. Its purpose, according to its constitution, is to further the rights of workers to organize in unions and bargain collectively; to advocate legislation which is beneficial to workers and oppose that which is not; and to correct abuses and to insure the workers their just rights. It also has more social and political purposes: to help all people who work for a living improve their working conditions and raise their standard of living; preserve their rights to act together for mutual aid and advancement; further the cause of unions; strengthen civil rights; and promote the democratic process. It acts as the central force, providing assistance and education through its various committees and councils, and of course, taking on the advocacy role.

Harry Van Arsdale was elected the president of the Central Trades and Labor Council of the AFL in 1957. With the merger in 1959 he became the President of the Central Labor Council. During his presidency (1957-1986), the council established many diverse committees and programs such as Rehabilitation Council (1963), Hispanic Labor Committee (1970), and the Black Trade Unionist Leadership Committee (1972). The "Labor College" (1971), the Center for Labor Studies of Empire State College, State University of New York was founded to further Labor Education.

A popular event held by the Council is the annual Lincoln's Birthday Dinner. The Central Labor Council bestows its Annual Distinguished Services Awards to four trade unionists during the dinner which is held in February. This event is well-represented in the collection as are many of the special committees.

The New York City Central Labor Council was formed by a merger of the NYC Industrial Union Council (CIO) and the Central Trade and Labor Council on February 19, 1959.

Under the leadership of Harry Van Arsdale, Jr., who served as president from 1957 to 1986, the council established vocational and peer counselling through its Rehabilitation Council (1963), launched the first successful attempt to organize the city's cabbies through the Taxi Drivers' Organizing Committee (1964); set up advisory committees to better meet the concerns of minority workers in the Hispanic Labor Committee (1972); and furthered labor education by working for the founding of the "Labor College" - the Center for Labor Studies of Empire State College, State University of New York (1971). The New York City Central Labor Council is currently composed of about 500 affiliates representing nearly one million members.

The New York City Central Labor Council had its origins in the Central Trades and Labor Council of Greater New York City, chartered in 1920 by the American Federation of Labor (AFL). The Council represented AFL-affiliated local unions in the New York City area. After the split between the AFL and the newly-formed Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in the mid-1930s, CIO unions in the city were represented by a separate CIO Council. The Central Trades and Labor Council merged with the New York City CIO on February 19, 1959 to form the New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO. This move followed the 1955 national merger of the AFL and the CIO, and the 1958 merger of New York state-level AFL and CIO bodies.

The New York City Central Labor Council is an organization comprised of nearly 400 local union affiliates. It only acts on local activities and concerns. It issues no statements on AFL-CIO policy and does not participate in the affairs of its local affiliates or their parent organizations. Its purpose, according to its constitution, is to further the rights of workers to organize in unions and bargain collectively; to advocate legislation which is beneficial to workers and oppose that which is not; to correct abuses and to insure the workers their just rights. It also has the broader purposes of helping all workers to improve their working conditions and raise their standard of living; to preserve workers' rights to act together for mutual aid and advancement; to further the cause of trade unions; and to strengthen civil rights. It acts as the central body of the City's labor movement, providing assistance and education through its various committees and councils.

The regular activities of the New York City Central Labor Council are directed by its executive officers, Executive Board, and Delegates' Council meetings. The planning and execution of programs and conferences is the province of a number of standing and special committees. These committees are composed of members from affiliated local unions, and each has its own officers and advisory staff. And is responsible for conducting specific programs and conferences. An important special committee is the Labor Day Parade Committee.

Harry Van Arsdale, Business Manager of International Brotherhood of Electricians Local 3, was elected the president of the Central Trades and Labor Council of the AFL in 1957. With the merger in 1959 he became the president of the Central Labor Council. During his presidency (1957-1986), the council established many committees and programs such as the Rehabilitation Council (1963), Hispanic Labor Committee (1970), and the Black Trade Unionists Leadership Committee (1972). After Harry Van Arsdale Jr.'s death in 1986, his son, Thomas Van Arsdale was elected to the post of president. During the Van Arsdales' tenure the Council campaigned to organize taxicab drivers, helped to found a worker education program (the Harry Van Arsdale, Jr. Center for Labor Studies at Empire State College, SUNY), mobilized the labor movement to confront the City's fiscal crisis of the late 1970s, and generally worked to foster a spirit of solidarity throughout the many disparate sectors of the New York City labor movement

Thomas Van Arsdale was succeeded as president by Brian M. McLaughlin, also of IBEW Local 3, in 1995; and Gary LaBarbera of the Teamsters union was elected to replace McLaughlin in June 2007, with Ed Ott serving in the newly created position of Executive Director.

The Council's web site is http://www.nycclc.org/

The Central Trades and Labor Council of the American Federation of Labor merged with the New York City Congress of Industrial Organizations Council on February 19, 1959 to form the New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO. This followed the earlier merger on December 9, 1958 of New York State's AFL and CIO.

The New York City Central Labor Council is an organization comprised of nearly 400 local union affiliates. It acts only on local activities and concerns and it does not issue statements on AFL-CIO policy. According to its constitution, the council’s purpose is to further the rights of workers to organize in unions and to bargain collectively, to advocate legislation which is beneficial to workers and oppose that which is not, and to correct abuses and to insure the workers their just rights.

The New York City Central Labor Council also has social and political purposes driven by the commitment to help all people who work for a living improve their working conditions and raise their standard of living. Further, the New York City Central Labor Council strives to preserve workers’ rights to act together for mutual aid and advancement, to further the cause of unions, and to strengthen civil rights. It acts as a central force, providing assistance and education through its various committees and councils.

The regular activities of the New York City Central Labor Council are directed by its executive officers, Executive Board, and Delegates' Council meetings. The planning and execution of programs and conferences are conducted by various standing and special committees. These committees are composed of members from affiliated local unions, each with officers and advisory consulting staff. An important special committee is the Labor Day Parade Committee.

In 1957, Harry Van Arsdale was elected president of the Central Trades and Labor Council of the AFL. Following the merger in 1959, he became the President of the Central Labor Council. During his presidency (1957-1986), the council established many diverse committees and programs such as the Rehabilitation Council (1963), Hispanic Labor Committee (1970), and the Black Trade Unionist Leadership Committee (1972). The Council was also instrumental in founding the Harry Van Arsdale Jr. Center for Labor Studies, in 1971, to further labor education at Empire State College, State University of New York.

Upon Harry Van Arsdale's death in 1986, his son, Thomas Van Arsdale, was elected to the post of president.