A secretary of the "Sindicato Minero Asturiano" (the local coal miners' branch of the Unión General de Trabajadores, UGT), and a delegate to the International Miners' Federation. As a prominent labor organizer, Tomás led militias formed by workers during the ""Revolution of Asturias"" of October 1934, being the president of the new revolutionary state (5-15 of October). He was a revolutionary not just to face only the right-wing government, but also the Second Spanish Republic. He subsequently took part in the elections of 1936 as a candidate for the Popular Front, being elected a deputy with the election victory the Front carried.