1911-2026: Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and Its Relevance Today
(l-r: JLC's Jonathan Taubes, Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Commissioner of NYC's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection Samuel Levine, and Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism Phylisa Wisdom.)
115 Year Later, We Will Not Forget!
March 25, 2026 – New York, NY: The Jewish Labor Committee was proud to show up today alongside union leaders, faith leaders, elected officials and community members for the annual commemoration of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.
One hundred and fifteen years ago, March 25th, 1911, was a tragic day in New York City. 146 women and girls, mostly Jewish and Italian immigrants, perished from a fire that started on the floor where they worked making shirtwaists, ladies' blouses. Traveling from the 8th floor to the 9th, and then the 10th floor of the building on the northwest corner of Washington Place and Greene Street, just east of Washington Square Park, most of these poor souls could not escape their workplace: the locks on the door that were originally placed to protect minor property loss lead to a horrific loss of lives, and the fire trucks of the day had ladders that only reached up to the floor. Not long after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, the United Hebrew Trades of New York, the Ladies Waist and Dressmakers Union Local 25 of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, the ILGWU as a whole and others held a funeral procession to mourn the loss of the garment workers' lives.
115 years later, the United Hebrew Trades, now the New York Division of the Jewish Labor Committee, still commemorates not only the loss of workers' lives on the job, but the need to protect the safety of workers, and their right to join a union, wherever they labor. The deaths of these garment workers were not totally in vain: as a result of this preventable tragedy, more than 36 laws were passed for improved fire and safety laws, as well as child labor laws.
At a time of rampant inequality, rising antisemitism, and attacks on the most vulnerable working people (especially immigrants), the lessons of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire - and the need to make a city where all of us, together, can survive and thrive - take on a renewed sense of urgency. Now, as then, we know that we must stand together in the crucial and ongoing fight for a New York, an America, and a world where all Jews and all workers can live in safety, dignity, and freedom. Now, as then, we believe that we can win.
#WeRemember #TriangleFire @bradhoylman @helloDCWP @phylisajoy @trianglefire