of the first president of the organization, Thomas Van Arsdale. In 1986, Van Arsdale's father, Harry Van Arsdale, Jr., died, and he assumed his father's position in the organization as president. The Labor Council today reigns as the largest municipal labor council in the country, a federation with 400 union locals and over 1 million members. In June 1995, McLaughlin succeeded Van Arsdale as the president of the CLC in a landslide election; Thomas Van Arsdale floundered in the position and McLaughlin was charged with re-energizing the council. The Labor Council represents laborers from a wide range of industries and enterprises. The union locals that belong to the organization "represent workers ranging from public school teachers to crane operators to employees at the Bronx Zoo, The council's main responsibilities are coordinating the various unions' political activities and placing labor's overall weight behind individual unions during organizing drives and strikes." McLaughlin is also recognized for a number of achievements during his tenure at the CLC. He "was among the most influential labor leaders in New York City and in the state, providing pivotal early support for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's re-election and supporting the failed effort to build a football stadium on the Far West Side of Manhattan. He led the fight to keep Wal-Mart out of the city and lent strong support to transit workers" during a 2005 strike. McLaughlin had also been courted by not just the mayor, but also bishops, corporate CEOs and real estate magnates, thus emerging "as a major player in some of the biggest municipal battles" of 2006, "including the transit strike and the West Side stadium fight." As head of the Labor Council, McLaughlin led the annual Labor Day Parade. In 2001, he praised the selection of United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten as grand marshal of that year's parade. "Throughout the years, labor has focused on certain issues - the eight-hour workday, a livable minimum wage, the protection of Social Security. This year our attention will be on the need for quality public schools... Randi Weingarten has not only been an outstanding labor leader in this city. In a time where [sic] teacher bashing and finger-pointing, she has been a beacon in fighting for teachers and students." On October 4, 2003, as New York chairman of the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride, McLaughlin presided over a rally of 100,000 immigrants and their supporters