Peronism still controlled the labor unions, the most powerful ones in all of Latin America.
The biggest one was the General Confederation of Labour (CGT).
Alfonsín sought to reduce the Peronist influence over the unions, fearing that they may become a destabilizing force for the fledgling democracy.
He rejected their custom of holding single-candidate internal elections, and deemed them totalitarian and not genuine representatives of the workforce.
His proposal was to change the laws for those internal elections, remove the union leaders appointed during the dictatorship, and elect new ones under the new laws.
The CGT rejected the proposal as interventionist, and prompted Peronist politicians to vote against it.
The law was approved by the Chamber of Deputies but failed to pass in the Senate by one vote.
A second bill proposed simply a call to elections, without supervision from the government, which was approved.
As a result, the unions remained Peronist.

The CGT was splintered in internal factions at the time.
Lorenzo Miguel had close ties to the Justicialist party, and led "the 62 organisations" faction.
Saúl Ubaldini was more confrontational, distrusted the politicians of the PJ, and was eventually appointed secretary general of the CGT.
His lack of political ties allowed him to work as a mediator between the union factions.
Carlos Alderete led a faction closer to Alfonsín, named "the 15" unions.
The government sought to deepen the internal divisions between the unions by appointing Alderete as minister of labour and promoting legislation to benefit his faction.
He was removed after the defeat in the 1987 midterm elections, but the government stayed on good terms with his faction.

Alfonsín kept a regulation from the dictatorship that allowed him to regulate the level of wages.
He authorized wage increases every three months, to keep them up to the inflation rate.
The CGT rejected this, and proposed instead that wages be determined by free negotiations.
Alfonsín allowed strike actions, which were forbidden during the dictatorship, which gave the unions another way to expand their influence.
There were thirteen general strikes and thousands of minor labor conflicts.
However, unlike similar situations in the past, the CGT sided with Alfonsín during the military rebellions, and did not support the removal of a non-Peronist president.
The conflicts were caused by high inflation, and the unions requested higher wages in response to it.
The unions got the support of the non-unionized retirees, the church and left-wing factions.
Popular support for the government allowed it to endure in spite of opposition from the unions.
Peronism still controlled the labor unions, the most powerful ones in all of Latin America. The biggest one was the General Confederation of Labour (CGT). Alfonsín sought to reduce the Peronist influence over the unions, fearing that they may become a destabilizing force for the fledgling democracy. He rejected their custom of holding single-candidate internal elections, and deemed them totalitarian and not genuine representatives of the workforce. His proposal was to change the laws for those internal elections, remove the union leaders appointed during the dictatorship, and elect new ones under the new laws. The CGT rejected the proposal as interventionist, and prompted Peronist politicians to vote against it. The law was approved by the Chamber of Deputies but failed to pass in the Senate by one vote. A second bill proposed simply a call to elections, without supervision from the government, which was approved. As a result, the unions remained Peronist.
The CGT was splintered in internal factions at the time. Lorenzo Miguel had close ties to the Justicialist party, and led "the 62 organisations" faction. Saúl Ubaldini was more confrontational, distrusted the politicians of the PJ, and was eventually appointed secretary general of the CGT. His lack of political ties allowed him to work as a mediator between the union factions. Carlos Alderete led a faction closer to Alfonsín, named "the 15" unions. The government sought to deepen the internal divisions between the unions by appointing Alderete as minister of labour and promoting legislation to benefit his faction. He was removed after the defeat in the 1987 midterm elections, but the government stayed on good terms with his faction.
Alfonsín kept a regulation from the dictatorship that allowed him to regulate the level of wages. He authorized wage increases every three months, to keep them up to the inflation rate. The CGT rejected this, and proposed instead that wages be determined by free negotiations. Alfonsín allowed strike actions, which were forbidden during the dictatorship, which gave the unions another way to expand their influence. There were thirteen general strikes and thousands of minor labor conflicts. However, unlike similar situations in the past, the CGT sided with Alfonsín during the military rebellions, and did not support the removal of a non-Peronist president. The conflicts were caused by high inflation, and the unions requested higher wages in response to it. The unions got the support of the non-unionized retirees, the church and left-wing factions. Popular support for the government allowed it to endure in spite of opposition from the unions.
Raúl Alfonsín