José Alonso (trade unionist)

José Alonso
Argentine CGT labor union leader José Alonso
Born	February 6, 1917
Died	August 27, 1970

José Alonso (February 6, 1917 – August 27, 1970) was an Argentine politician and trade-unionist.

José Alonso was born in the Montserrat section of Buenos Aires, in 1917. The son of a Spanish tailor, he dedicated himself to the same profession, and was first elected as a union delegate of the tailors in 1938. Alonso initially supported socialism and Alfredo Palacios, but balked from the Socialist Party of Argentina in his support for the populist Colonel Juan Perón, Secretary of Labor of Pedro Pablo Ramírez' military government in power since June 4, 1943.

On March 23, 1943, Alonso created the SOIVA (Sindicato de la Industria del Vestido de la Capital Federal, Trade-Union of Clothing Industry of Capital Federal) textile trade-union to counter the influence of the communist Federación Obrera del Vestido (FOV, Workers' Federation of Clothing). Supported by Perón, the SOIVA soon became one of the strongest trade-unions of Argentina. Again, in 1945 and also with support of the military junta, Alonso founded the FONIVA (Federación Obrera Nacional de la Industria del Vestido) national federation, and became its vice-secretary.

José Alonso, elected secretary of the SOIVA in 1946, became part of the Confederal Central Committee of the CGT trade union. He travelled abroad, being delegate of Argentine workers' in several conferences of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and took part in the formation of the ATLAS (Agrupación de Trabajadores Latinoamericanos Sindicalistas, a Latin American trade-union confederation) in 1952.