Alex Rose

Who was Alex Rose?

Alex Rose was a labor leader in the American Hatters' Union, a co-founder of the American Labor Party, and vice-chairman of the Liberal Party of New York.

Rose, the son of a wealthy leather tanner, was born in Warsaw, Poland. After secondary school, Rose immigrated to the United States, having been denied a Polish university education because he was Jewish. However, the outbreak of the First World War forced Rose to abandon professional aspirations and take a job as a millinery worker; in 1914 he joined the Cloth Hat, Cap, and Millinery Workers' International Union and became interested in organized labor. In 1918, Rose joined the British Army, and upon returning to America in 1920 resumed union organizing activities. He worked his way through union leadership and was elected president of the Hatters' Union in 1950, where Rose sought to root out Communist and gangster influence from unions.

In 1936, Rose assisted in founding of the American Labor Party. Because the communists acquired influence in the ALP, in 1944 Rose, along with David Dubinsky, Ben Davidson, and others founded the Liberal Party of New York. Rose became its vice-chairperson.