2. Triangle Factory
Shirtwaist factory
Series of strikes
Farbrente mayblakh – fiery girls
− Clara Lemlich and her cohort
Poor working conditions:
− Locked doors
− Few breaks
− Sweatshop environment
− Little pay
3. The fire
History of fires in the building – owner recalled
at least three other occasions
Many workers were in locked upper-story
rooms
Many workers eventually jumped out from the
upper windows in an attempt to flee
Insufficient fire escapes
Deformed, burnt bodies often had to be
identified at the morgue
Cotton is extremely flammable
− Fire marshall eventually concluded the fire itself was
probably caused by a cigarette butt or match
4. Fallout
Called into question the
ways of the labor system and
labor safety of the US
Over 140 dead
In large part a lack of
concern for worker safety,
according to the author, led
to the event.
5. Reform
“A century ago the idea of tackling social
problems by collecting facts—as opposed to
scriptural passages or philosophical tenets—was
groundbreaking.”
− Social reform wave
Tammany Hall—transformation to pro-labor
Tammany twins—Robert Wagner and Al Smith—
were leaders in reform efforts.
June 30, 1911: Factory Investigating Commission
Law
Significant legal overhauls in 1912