Triangle Tragedy By Hope Wilkos, Writer/Blogger
Sometimes tragedy and remorse bring reason and reform although it is difficult to see through the grief at that particular time.
New York City is coming up to the 100th year anniversary of a horrible tragedy that struck Washington Square in Greenwich Village but brought about changes in the American workplace.
In the late afternoon of March 25th, 1911, the workers of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City’s Greenwich Village were clocking out for the day. There were approximately 500 workers of which most were Italian and Jewish women and girls.
It is unclear whether it was a cigarette or a match but one of the two was dropped on the floor and within a matter of minutes, the building was engulfed in flames. This factory occupied the top 3 floors of a 10-story building. The building, known as the Asch Building, did not have a fire sprinkler system due to the steep cost. Unfortunately back in those days, firefighter ladders did not reach past the sixth floor which meant that many of these worker’s fates were doomed.
The single fire escape collapsed. Onlookers from below watched in horror as trapped women and girls jumped to their deaths, forced to their demise with no other viable options. A door was said to be locked so that blocked the way out. Tons of water was extinguished and controlled the fire within time.
Sections of ladder which ended two stories above the ground lay twisted and collapsed under the weight of the workers trying to escape the fire. The number of casualties overwhelmed the local morgue. It was almost an earlier version of present day 9/11.
New Yorkers united in their time of grief.
This horrific tragedy heightened inequities facing sweatshop workers. There was a two year investigation of factory conditions. Because of this nightmare, new safety and fire regulations as well as child labor laws and workman’s compensation came into being. This was a pivotal point in the American Labor Movement.
There has even been an HBO documentary produced on the Triangle Fire. Michael Hirsch, co-producer of the documentary, is fearful that the American public’s memory is fading in respect to the sacrifices these workers made through their deaths to help bring about monumental changes in the workplace.
Hirsch desperately wants to keep their memories alive and has made it his mission to find the names of all 146 people who died in the fire that day along with their stories. Amazingly enough, some of the family members didn’t even know the story. One member even learned how much of a hero her aunt really was.
The victims were all heroes in their own way and we must never forget the reforms that they brought about in the American workplace.
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