Around 1910, the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) and the Women's Trade Union League (WTUL) gained traction in their effort to organize women and girls. The youngest were two 14-year-old girls. It was not unusual in 1911 for girls that young to work, and even today, 14-year-olds and even preteens can legally perform paid manual labor in the United States under certain conditions. More than an industrial disaster story, the narrative of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire has become a touchstone, and often a critique, of capitalism in the United States. Newspapers mostly focused on the factory’s flaws, including poorly maintained equipment. The blaze, at the Happy Land Social Club in … What the Triangle loft spaces lacked, however, was a fire-protection sprinkler system. Get the best of Smithsonian magazine by email. We will."). Even in a legitimate factory, work was often monotonous, grueling, dangerous and poorly paid. But the system of production largely stayed the same. The media at the time attributed the cause of the fire to the owners’ negligence and indifference because it fit the crowd-pleasing narrative of good and evil, plus a straight-forward telling of the source of the fire worked better than a parsing of the many different bad choices happening in concert. In February 1910, the NWTUL settled with the factory owners, gaining improved wages, working conditions, and hours. Blanck and Harris, for their part, were extremely anti-union, using violence and intimidation to quash workers’ activities. After three weeks of trial with more than 100 witness testimonies the two men ultimately beat the rap on a technicality—that they did not know a second exit door on the ninth floor was locked—and were acquitted by a jury of their peers. The tragedy has been recounted in numerous sources, including journalist David von Drehle’s Triangle: The Fire that Changed America, Leo Stein’s classic The Triangle Fire, as well as detailed court transcripts. The 1909 Cherry, Illinois coal mine fire, which killed 259 men and boys, and the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City, which killed 146 people, mostly women and girls, were instrumental in the enactment of workers' compensation laws around the country. Every week I must learn of the untimely death of one of my sister workers. Putting food on the table and sending money to families in their home countries took precedence over paying union dues. A version of this article was originally published on the "Oh Say Can Your See" blog of the National Museum of American History. The workers pressed for immediate needs—more money, a 52-hour work week, and a better way for dealing with the unemployment that came with seasonal apparel change—over more long-term goals like workplace safety. The building had only one fire escape, which collapsed during the rescue effort. Better and increased regulation was an important result of the Triangle fire, but laws are not always enough. “The victims of the tragedy are still celebrated as martyrs at the hands of industrial greed. Blanck and Harris tried to pick up after the fire. California artist Susan Harris was surprised, at age 15, to discover her own notoriety—as the granddaughter of an owner of the Triangle Waist Company. The story of workers and the changing social contract between management and labor is an underlying theme of the Smithsonian exhibitions that I have curated. or Vote Now! In the past, tall buildings warehoused dry goods with just a few clerks working inside. Peter Liebhold is a curator in the Division of Work and Industry at the National Museum of American History focusing on industrial history. "The tragedy still dwells in the collective memory of the nation and of the international labor movement,” reads the text of an online exhibition from Cornell University's Kheel Center. Sweatshops were (and continue to be) a huge problem in the hypercompetitive garment industry. 1 HR 41 MIN. Every year thousands of us are maimed. 1 HR 7 MIN. Before the deadly fire, Blanck and Harris were lauded by their peers as well as those in the garment industry as the “shirtwaist kings.” In 1911, they lived in luxurious houses and like other affluent people of their time had numerous servants, made philanthropic donations, and were pillars of their community. When tragedy struck (as happens today), some blamed manufacturers, some pointed to workers and others criticized government. Photo source: International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union Archives, Kheel Center, Cornell University, The social impact of the fire was heightened by the thousands of New Yorkers who witnessed the horror, including Frances Perkins - who became the Secretary of Labor under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Keep up-to-date on: © 2021 Smithsonian Magazine. The walkout expanded, becoming the Uprising of 20,000—a citywide strike of predominantly women shirtwaist workers. For 90 years it stood as New York's … Events like the Triangle fire drive me to keep this important history before the public. Triangle had modern, well-maintained equipment, including hundreds of belt-driven sewing machines mounted on long tables that ran from floor-mounted shafts. The life of men and women is so cheap and property is so sacred. Thorough and effective, the commission had proposed, by the end of 1911, 15 new laws for fire safety, factory inspection, employment and sanitation. Exactly 79 years to the day after the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire, another tragic fire occurred in New York City. They were up against owners like the Triangle Waist’s Blanck and Harris—hard-driving entrepreneurs who, like many other business owners, cut corners as they relentlessly pushed to grow their enterprise. “This is not the first time girls have been burned alive in the city. Long work tables and back-to-back chairs became deadly obstacles to workers trying to escape when fire broke out. Labor leaders like Clara Lemlich displaced many of the conservative male unionists and pushed for socialist policies, including a more equitable division of profits. Outside, firefighters' ladders were too short to reach the top floors and ineffective safety nets ripped like paper. He has co-curated numerous exhibitions including "American Enterprise," "Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program 1942-1964," "Treasures of American History," "America on the Move" and "Between a Rock and a Hard Place: A History of American Sweatshops, 1820 - Present." Eight were enacted. In response to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, the city and state of New York passed regulations that would prevent similar tragedies in the future, such as … 40 MIN. A broader cancer challenged, and still challenges the industry—the demand for low-cost goods— often imperils the most vulnerable workers. "Triangle Fire" Documentary from American Experience on PBS. Photo source: International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union Archives, Kheel Center, Cornell University, US Labor Department commemorates anniversary of Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire [3/23/12] The fire, better known as the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, was considered the deadliest building disaster in New York until the WTC collapse 90 years later. Photo source: International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union Archives, Kheel Center, Cornell University, The Asch Building's single fire escape collapsed under the weight of fleeing workers and the heat of the fire. The politicians woke up to the needs, and increasing power, of Jewish and Italian working-class immigrants. The 100th anniversary of the Triangle shirtwaist factory fire, which killed 146 workers in a New York City garment factory, marks a century of reforms that make up the core of OSHA's mission. Now, these buildings were housing factories with hundreds of workers. Unlike many other industrial countries, socialism never gained a dominant hold in the United States, and the struggle between labor and management continues apace. Give a Gift. What set them apart from their exploited employees lays bare the grander questions of American capitalism. Reaction to the Triangle fire was different. The end of the strike was followed only a year later by the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, which exposed the plight of immigrant women working in dangerous and difficult conditions. At the turn of the century, a shopping revolution swept the nation as consumers flocked to downtown palace department stores, attracted by a wide selection of goods sold at inexpensive prices in luxurious environments. the Imperial Food Co. fire of 1991 in North Carolina, CT Scans Suggest Egyptian Pharaoh Was Brutally Executed on the Battlefield, 2,000-Year-Old Figurine of Roman Love God Cupid Found in England, The Only Time in History When Men on Horseback Captured a Fleet of Ships, Oldest DNA Sequenced Yet Comes From Million-Year-Old Mammoths, Meet Farfarout, the Most Distant Object in the Solar System, In the 1980s, a Far-Left, Female-Led Domestic Terrorism Group Bombed the U.S. Capitol, A Quest to Return the Banjo to Its African Roots, NASA's Helicopter Ingenuity Will Attempt the First Flight on Mars, Human Flesh Looks Like Beef, But the Taste Is More Elusive, World's Oldest 'Industrial-Scale' Brewery Found in Egypt, Archaeologists Discover Ruins of Emperor Hadrian's Ornate Breakfast Chamber, John Quincy Adams Kept a Diary and Didn’t Skimp on the Details, Meet Joseph Rainey, the First Black Congressman, The State of American Craft Has Never Been Stronger. Court testimony attributed the source of the blaze to a fabric scrap bin, which led to a fire that spread explosively—fed by all the lightweight cotton fabric (and material dust) in the factory. These men were rightly vilified and hounded out of business. Affluent reformers such as Frances Perkins, Alva Vanderbilt Belmont and Anne Morgan also pushed for change. Despite rules forbidding employees from smoking, the practice was fairly common for men. Their labor, and low wages, made fashionable clothing affordable. Under the Grapefruit Tree: The CC Sabathia Story. The rapidly spreading fire killed 146 workers. There are so many of us for one job it matters little if 146 of us are burned to death.”, Triangle, unlike other disasters, became a rallying cry for political change. As the historian Jim Cullen has pointed out, the working-class belief in the American dream is “… an opiate that lulls people into ignoring the structural barriers that prevent collective and personal advancement.”. What is a sweatshop and what was the Triangle Shirtwaist factory like? The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, on March 25, 1911, was the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the city, and one of the deadliest in U.S. history. History is complicated, murky and filled with paradox. Photo source: International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union Archives, Kheel Center, Cornell University, The factory floor after the fire. Competition was, and continues to be, intense. It occupied about 27,000 square feet on three floors in a brightly lit, ten-year-old building, and employed about 500 workers. Stories were not told and the descendants often did not know the deeds of their ancestors. Triangle Fire I t was the deadliest workplace accident in New York City's history. ", Yet despite the power of the tragic fire story and dramatic trial, the resulting changes were only first steps in bringing about some needed protection, the underlying American belief in capitalism, including the powerful appeal of the “rags-to-riches” narrative, remained intact. The garment industry, with its low economic bar to entry, attracted many immigrant entrepreneurs. Without laws requiring their existence, few owners put them into their factories. Joseph Pulitzer's World newspaper, known for its sensational approach to journalism, delivered vivid reports of women hurling themselves from the building to certain death; the public was rightfully outraged. In 1914, Blanck and Harris were caught sewing counterfeit National Consumer League anti-sweatshop labels into their shirtwaists. Seeking efficiency, manufacturers applied mass production techniques in increasingly large garment shops. Twist of Faith. The Truth About Killer Robots. Photo source: International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union Archives, Kheel Center, Cornell University, Mourners from the union that represented the Triangle employees gathered 10 days after the fire to remember the dead and call for workplace safety reforms. The 100th anniversary of the Triangle shirtwaist factory fire, which killed 146 workers in a New York City garment factory, marks a century of reforms that make up the core of OSHA's mission. United Skates. In all, 146 workers, most of them immigrant young women and girls, perished in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. Blanck and Harris dealt with fire hazards to their equipment and inventory by buying insurance, and the building itself was considered fireproof (and survived the fire without structural damage). Despite the odds, Triangle workers went on strike in late 1909. The fire caused the deaths of 146 garment workers – 123 women and girls and 23 men – who died from the fire, smoke inhalation, or falling/jumping to … Workers—mostly immigrant women in their teens and 20s, attempting to flee—found jammed narrow staircases, locked exit doors, a fire escape that collapsed and utter confusion. Few women smoked in 1911, so the culprit was likely one of the cutters (a strictly male job). Today, as debates continue over government regulation, immigration, and corporate responsibility, what important insights can we glean from the past to inform our choices for the future? The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory is best known for the unique fashion blouse they produced and the horrific fire that killed 146 workers, women who might have lived if the owners had been forced to ensure safety standards in the factory. True Justice: Bryan Stevenson's Fight for Equality. Harris ran his own small shop until 1925 and Blanck set up a variety of new ventures with Normandie Waist the most successful. Around 1919 the business disbanded. The Triangle factory fire gave rise to progressive reformers call for greater regulation and helped change attitudes of New York's Democratic political machine, Tammany Hall. In the early 1900s, workers, banding together in unions to gain bargaining power with the owners, struggled to create lasting organizations. While Blanck and Harris successfully escaped conviction in the Triangle manslaughter trial, their apparel kingdom crumbled. Deadly workplace tragedies like Triangle still happen today, including the Imperial Food Co. fire of 1991 in North Carolina and the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster of 2010 in West Virginia. What few building codes existed were woefully inadequate and under-enforced. Workers in the factory, many of whom were young women recently arrived from Europe, had little time or opportunity to escape. Were women organizing at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory? 1 HR 27 MIN. Unlocking the Cage. An 1895 definition described a sweatshop operator as an “employer who underpays and overworks his employees, especially a contractor for piecework in the tailoring trade.” This work often took place in small, dank tenement apartments.
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