The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire: From 1911 to 2024
[History of the Needlecraft Industry, 1938, by Ernest Fiene (Detail)]
March 25, 2024 - The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, that terrible man-made tragedy that took place in New York City a bit over a century ago, is being memorialized in programs across the country. And that is why we commemorate it on March 25th this year, at the site of the fire, on the corner of Washington and Greene Streets, just east of Manhattan's Washington Square Park. On March 25, 1911, 146 garment workers, mostly young, mostly women, mostly Jewish and Italian immigrants and children of immigrants, died as a result of this calamity, either by being burned or as a result of jumping to their deaths. Most of the workers could not escape because managers locked the doors to the stairwells and exits to keep them from leaving early. The fire trucks' ladders of that day could only reach the sixth floor - those who perished were on the eighth, ninth and tenth floors.
Occurring in the midst of five years of labor organizing in the clothing industry in a number of cities across the United States, the fire shocked the city, the country and the world. Legislation requiring improved factory safety standards was passed in the immediate aftermath of the fire. The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, and other unions had been fighting for better and safer working conditions for working men and women in all workplaces. And today’s unions are still fighting.
Many of our grandparents and great-grandparents played a critical role in building a strong and vibrant labor movement, with the hope that it would endure and remain a permanent feature of American life. Through their actions and their struggle, our lives and the lives of many Americans were made better. Today, alas, those hard-fought gains are still under threat in communities across the United States.
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