Charles P. Fahey

Charles Patrick Fahey (February 1862 – March 4, 1915) was an American labor leader and politician. As a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives for Davidson County, he sponsored pro-labor legislation for women and children. His bills also led to the racial segregation of streetcars in Nashville, and to the requirement of a medical prescription to purchase cocaine.

Early life Fahey was born in 1862 in Nashville, Tennessee, to Irish immigrants Patrick Fahey and Katherine Ward. He was educated in St. Louis, Missouri. representing Davidson County. Fahey sponsored pro-labor legislations, like "the first child labor law", "another measure reducing the hours of working women in the state", and "another bill making all stores and shops of all kind provide stools for their women employees when not busy." In 1901, he introduced Bill Number 80 to ban the informal sale of cocaine; instead it had to be purchased with a prescription from a physician. The bill passed both the state house and senate. and the 33rd Annual Convention of the AFL in Seattle, Washington, in November, 1913. In 1913, he was nominated to serve as the member of the Tennessee Senate for Davidson County, but he decided not to run. Instead, he was "closely identified with legislators in advocating laws beneficial to the workers and was recognized as an authority on all questions pertaining to labor."

Personal life and death Fahey married Kate Gorey; they had a son, who died as an infant. Fahey attended services at St. Columba Church, a Catholic church in East Nashville. They resided at 703 Main Street in Nashville, Tennessee. His wife predeceased him in 1904.

Fahey died of heart disease on March 4, 1915, in Nashville. He was buried in the Calvary Cemetery in Nashville. Shortly after his death, the Nashville Trades and Labor Council passed a resolution in his honor.