Alex Rose (15 October 1898 – 28 December 1976) 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 (CHCMW) 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 and the Liberal Party of New York, becoming its vice-chairperson in 1944. Under Rose's leadership, the Liberal Party was quite influential in New York politics, exercising power by endorsing Democratic candidates. In 1966 Rose successfully lobbied Senator Robert F. Kennedy to campaign on behalf of judge Samuel Silverman to clean up corruption from the surrogate court.
Rose is considered by many to be one of the most brilliant political strategists of the 20th century. Perhaps his greatest triumph was in the New York City mayoral election of 1969. John V. Lindsay was elected mayor as a fusion candidate (Republican-Liberal) in 1965, but was denied the Republican nomination in 1969. He was reelected in 1969 as the Liberal candidate, with Rose directing his campaign against both Democratic and Republican opponents.
After Rose's death in 1976, the influence of the Liberal Party faded.