William Fairley
William R. Fairley (born November 9, 1846 in 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 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 United Mine Workers in Alabama, and as a "stormy petrel" in his involvement in disputes with mine owners and operators.
In 1904 a group of "non-resident labor leaders" involved in union disputes with gold mine owners in the Cripple Creek district— including Fairley, Mary "Mother" Jones, William Wardjon, Chris Evans and Charles Demolli— were "deported" from the State of Colorado by order of Governor James Peabody.
During the Taft administration (1909–1913), Fairley was appointed as an immigration inspector at the Port of New Orleans.
Fairley suffered from 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