William Fairley
William Robert Fairley (born November 9, 1846 in Leasingthorne, England; died November 27, 1927 in Ensley) was a labor organizer and negotiator who served on the executive board of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) and as a commissioner in the conciliation section of the U.S. Department of Labor.
Fairley was the son of Robert and Margery Jobling Fairley of Leasingthorne, in County Durham in North East England. He married the former Jane Ann Pattinson, had two children, Robert and Bridget.
The family immigrated to the United States in 1880. He worked as a coal miner in Ohio, Tennessee and Kentucky before settling in the Birmingham District around 1887. He was credited as a "leading spirit" in organizing for the UMWA in Alabama, and as a "stormy petrel" in his disputes with mine owners and operators.
In 1904 a group of "non-resident labor leaders" operating in Colorado's Cripple Creek district— including Fairley, Mary "Mother" Jones, William Wardjon, Chris Evans and Charles Demolli— were "deported" by the state militia under orders from Governor James Peabody.
Between 1907 and 1918 Fairley resided at 516 Balsam Avenue in Pratt City.
During the Taft administration (1909–1913), Fairley was appointed as an immigration inspector at the Port of New Orleans.
Fairley suffered from chronic illness as he reached his 80s. He died in 1927 and is buried at the Fraternal Cemetery in North Pratt.
References
- "To Run Labor Leaders Out of Colorado" (March 27, 1904) The New York Times, p. 1
- "Mr. Fairley Talks of Miners' Strike" (August 3, 1904) The Birmingham Age-Herald, p. 5
- "W. R. Fairley Died After Lingering Illness" (December 15, 1927) Coal Mining Review, Vol. 16, No. 11, p. 9
External links
- William R. Fairley at Findagrave.com