Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory took up the eighth, ninth, and tenth floors of the Asch Building. Under the ownership of Max Blanck and Isaac Harris, the factory produced women's blouses (known at the time as "shirtwaists"). The factory normally employed about 500 workers, mostly young immigrant women, who normally worked nine hours a day on weekdays plus seven hours on Saturdays.
On this day in 1911 one hudred and forty-six garment workers, most of them women, died in the space of 18 short minutes. Some perished in the fire, others jumped from a fatal height. This tragedy brought issues of women’s empowerment, labor rights, and immigration to light.
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I had heard of this, but reading the details & the witness accounts...just magnifies what horror can result from absolute greed.
ReplyDeleteThat the two owners were acquitted is shocking...that one of them was accused of the same thing (locking doors) later & fined $20. is just beyond the pale.
I heard about this dreadful incident when I was much younger and it had a profound influence on me. I became active in the labour movement as a result.
ReplyDeletetonight - pbs - ch.19 - 9pm
ReplyDeleteAmerican Experience
Episode: Triangle Fire
S23, E08
(First Aired: Feb. 28, 2011)
The 1911 fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York's Greenwich Village resulted in legislation ensuring the most comprehensive workplace safety laws in the U.S.
CC
9:00 - 10:00 PM WNEDDT2 (17.2)