John Hales (1839 – fl.1882) was a British trade unionist and radical activist who served as secretary of the International Workingmen's Association.
Born in Ireland,[1] Hales came to prominence as the leader of the small Elastic Web Weavers of London union.
[3] Also interested in land reform, he proposed that it work with supporters of Bronterre O'Brien to create a Labour League to act as the British section of the international.
With the support of Johann Eccarius, Hermann Jung and Thomas Mottershead, he called a congress of the Federation with the intention of turning it into a political party with trade union backing.
They signed up to the new St Imer International, despite having little in common with its anarchist leadership, and the organisation soon ceased to have any importance.