The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911

Background of the Fire

• Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was a typical sweat factory located at the Asch Building in Manhatten

• The factory employed primarily women• These women worked long hours in unsanitary

and dangerous conditions• Max Blanck and and Isaac Harris were the owners

of the factory and subcontracted the work to individuals

Background of the Fire

• Subcontractors decided worker wages

• They pocketed a lot of the profits

• Owners didn’t know wages or number of workers

• Lots of exploitation

Background of the Fire

• Subcontractors took advantage of new immigrants

• Insufficient wages to pay high rents

• Children were hired in violation of child labor laws

Union Resistance

• The International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union• 1909 walkout of 400 employees at Triangle

Factory• At a meeting at Cooper Union, thousands of

garment workers followed Clara Lemlich’s call for a general strike

• Strike helped establish a grievance system• Many owners still disregarded workers’ rights

Local 25 Ladies Waist and Dress Makers Union

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Ladies at City Hall

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The Fire

• On March 25, 1911 a fire broke out on the top floors of the Asch Building

• Doors on the ninth floor were locked; owners said workers stole materials

• Many workers were forced to jump out of windows so they wouldn’t burn to death

• People passing by saw workers fall to their deaths

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The Fire

• Ladders could only reach to the 6th floor

• Hoses couldn’t reach the top floors

• 146 of the 500 employees died

• New York City would never be the same

Ninth Floor of Asch Building

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Tenth Floor of Asch Building

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Public Reaction to Fire

• People demanded restitution, justice, and action be taken

• Outraged cries called for improving unsafe working conditions

• Ladies’ Waist and Dress Makers’ Union Local No. 25 planned relief for survivors and families of victims

Public Reaction to Fire

• Local 25 organized rally for workers

• They distributed weekly pensions, cared for young workers and children, and secured work and proper living conditions

• This wasn’t easy

The Factory Investigating Commission

• Appointed by New York governor within a month of fire

• For five years the commission conducted a series of hearings that led to passage of important factory legislation

• Also helped create better standards of sanitation in New York factories

Justice?

• Blanck and Harris were acquitted of any wrong doing

• Owners claimed they didn’t know the doors had been locked

• They ended up only paying $75 for each life lost in the fire

The Fire’s Place in History

• The disaster touched off a national movement for safer working conditions, led to the creation of health and safety legislation, and helped shape future labor laws