Triangle Factory Fire Fuels Reform

Prepared by Nicholas Foulds

HIST2100 – 80: US Labor History

November 30, 2014

OverviewThe Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was owned by Max Blanck and Isaac Harris. It was located on the top three floors of the Asch Building in Manhattan, New York. An iconic example of a sweatshop, it involved long hours of working along cramped tables of sewing machines. Despite the known issues with the conditions of factories like the Triangle Shirtwaist factory, lack of support for change, political corruption, and refusal to cooperate by the owners stagnated reforms and change. Before the fire, strikes were led to attempt to gain support for reform within the garment industry. Many companies conceded, on paper, to enact change and reform. Others refused to cooperate with the unions and strikers, as was the case with the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. The fire was later used to bring people together in support of the proposed changes and reform. It was a gruesome wakeup call to Americans that reforms were immediately necessary. Great catastrophes often serve to fuel reform more quickly than speakers and activists could ever hope, but at a much higher price.1

1History.com, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

The Garment IndustryThe industry was well known for its strict and almost militant labor policies. It was a new and rising industry that changed how families got clothing. Until now, women had been tailoring and mending their own clothing as well as the clothing of their children, sometimes with the help of hired seamstresses. To accommodate the growing demand for ready-made clothes, the sweatshop system was developed. The shops would be unheated and poorly ventilated, leading to scorching summers and bitter winters. The work force was generally comprised of immigrant Jewish and Italian women, generally supervised by men of their own nationality. Policies and treatment of workers differed between companies, but in order to contend with large manufacturers, hours tended to be long and wages low.1

1Who Built America, Working People and the Nation’s History, 241

The Triangle Factory• Workers of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory were

often subjected to 12 or more hour shifts and forced to work every single day. In compensation, they were paid a mere $15 per week.1

• The factory had a history of issues, including two fires in 1902. The owners refused to install sprinkler systems.1

• The same owners had another company, the Diamond Waist Company, which burned in both 1907 and 1910. It has been speculated to be part of a not uncommon practice of burning one’s own factory to collect high fire insurance policies.1

1History.com, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

Protests and Unrest In 1909 the industry rapidly expanded. The fact that already low wages were slashed, conditions were still poor, and other small grievances sparked a number of small walk outs by the workers producing shirtwaists. These small protests eventually led to larger movements. Women were getting a taste of independence as well as the position to financially support their families through this corrupt industry. Since the industry was somewhat centered near New York, that is where the first of the strikes started. However, they did spread. A strike that became know as “The Uprising of the 20,000” started in New York and spread to Philadelphia. This strike, as well as others, were often viewed harshly upon by the government and companies alike, often leading to police involved harassment. The small strikes suffered and would have to reach out for support of larger unions, such as the WTUL (National Women’s Trade Union League)1

1Who Built America, Working People and the Nation’s History, 242

Protests and Unrest There were known issues and corruption in the garment industry, which had been previously pretested.

• Two years before, hundreds of workers (as many as 400) walked out in protest of the unsafe/unsanitary conditions. While most were fired, outside support earned significant press and some political support. Unfortunately, the strike ended with the majority of the workers being fired.1

• Uprising of the 20,000 was led by Clara Lemlich and other organizers against the shirtwaist industry. Unions aided and expanded the protest, including the National Women’s Trade Union League of America and the International Ladies Garment Workers’ Union. While only some of the demands were met, many companies agreed to increase wages and conditions. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory refused to reach an agreement.2

1Encyclopedia Britannica, The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 19112Harvard University Library Open Collection, Uprising of the 20,000

• The Uprising of the 20,000 spread to Philadelphia about a month later. Again, there was help from larger unions that aided the strikers with press relations, financials, as well as with legal aid.1

• Walkouts occurred after the small victory from the Uprising of the 20,000. At Hart, Schaffner, and Marx, a small group of fourteen women struck for weeks over a pay cut before more coworkers joined. Eventually, up to 40,000 workers throughout Chicago joined the protest.1

• Another protest in New York involved 60,000 strikers that ended in an agreement devised by Louis Brandeis. It had the intent of reducing cutthroat competition by stabilizing wages and improving conditions.1

The outbreak of protests and strikes over the sweatshop conditions of the industry led to a drastic rise in union membership. Between the years of 1909 and 1913 nearly 400,000 garment workers became unionized.1

1Who Built America, Working People and the Nation’s History, 241

A Fire that Shocked the NationThe small victories that were achieved in the protests leading up the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire did not manage to create enough reform to avoid such atragedy. Not all companies would agree to settlements, nor would they even recognize the unions fighting for reform. There were still few regulations to force companies to improve the workplace conditions. Also lacking were government bodies to enforce regulations and investigate companies that infringed upon the laws. Corruption within the government often meant that if a company had enough money they could pay off officials to look the other way, or to not look at all. The influence of the business owners could outweigh that of the activists. Strikes could be ended by convincing the right people to send in enough force to scare off all but the most dedicated of protesters. Maybe if the right person had listened and if the right person had acted, the loss created by the Triangle Fire could have been avoided. The dangerous conditions within the factory worked all to well together to create this tragedy.

Conditions That Lead to the Loss of LifeThe company’s own regulations are what contributed most heavily to the severe losses that resulted from the fire. The fire itself started on the morning of March 15, 1911, in a small rag bin. Conditions that lead to the extreme losses were avoidable. These were ultimately just neglected safety features. However, some were due to management fearing workers would attempt to steal equipment and/or products. The following are some of the issues worth noting:

• Of four working elevators in the building, only one was functional. It was located at the end of a long, narrow corridor.

• There were only two stairways for the top floors of the building. One of them only opened inward and could not be used to descend. The other was locked by management to thwart people leaving or stealing.

• The fire escape located on the exterior of the building was far too small to accommodate the number of workers that would have had to have used it.

• The fire hose that workers attempted to use to put out the fire before it spread was not only rotted, but the valve itself was rusted shut.

History.com, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

In total, 145 workers died on the day of the fire. Not all deaths were directly caused by the fire. Deaths were broken down as follows:

• 58 died jumping from windows to the sidewalks below in an attempt to escape the flames. 1

• 49 died directly as a result of the fire, whether by smoke inhalation or otherwise.

• 36 died in the elevator shaft. 1

• 2 died after the fire due to injuries sustained during the fire.1

Other issues compounded those within the factory itself, such as inadequate fire prevention systems, fire response, and fire-fighters equipment.2

1Harvard University Library Open Collection, Uprising of the 20,0002History.com, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

AftermathIn the days following the fire, activists were quick to use the fire as a lesson to other reformers and to the bodies that had been resisting reform. Today, it is clear that had people listened sooner, this tragedy could have been avoided. Regulations would have to be created to improve workplace safety, as many had been claiming for years. However, the idea of something potentially going wrong and something actually going wrong are two very different things. It is fair to say that people did learn something from this incident, and that the lives that were lost did indeed have a positive impact.

Over the coming years, hundreds of workers testified to the Factory Commission (created to investigate workplace safety) regarding unsafe conditions. To improve conditions, as well as wages, the commission sponsored fifty-six laws. The government, being the political body that it is (and was), saw many of these laws passed by Democrats who suddenly started supporting the growing popularity of reform.1

1Who Built America, Working People and the Nation’s History, 244

Other groups also got together in order to use the fire to create good. The WTUL convened a protest the day after the fire, resulting in the creation of a committee to write up new safety legislation. Both the Joint Relief Committee and the Red Cross investigated the fire and published their findings. A later meeting led to the creation of a resolution calling for the creation of a Bureau of Fire Prevention, as well as additional safety regulations.1

The New York City Fire Department also voiced the need for a regulation stating that automatic sprinkler systems would be mandatory in all buildings.1

Reporters and newspapers were far from silent in the aftermath of this tragedy. They condemned the poor regulations and enforcement, but focused less on the responsibility of the owners. In regard to the owners, they were not found guilty of manslaughter during their trial in December 1911.1

1Jewish Women’s Archive, Beyond Place and Ethnicity: The Uses of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

Sources• Harvard University Library. "Uprising of the 20,000." Open Collections Program:

Women Working,. Harvard University Library Open Collections Program, 2014. Web. 29 Nov. 2014.

• History.com Staff. "Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.

• Hyman, Paula E. "Sharing StoriesInspiring Change." Beyond Place and Ethnicity: The Uses of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, by Paula E. Hyman. Jewish Women's Archive, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2014. <http://jwa.org/triangle/hyman>.

• McNamee, Gregory. "The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 25 Mar. 2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.

• Rosenzweig, Roy, Nelson Lichtenstein, Joshua Brown, and David Jaffee.Who Built America? Working People and the Nation's History. 3rd ed. Vol. 2. Boston: Beford/St. Martin's, 2008. Print. 1877 to Present.

Image Sources (In order of occurrence)1. Dolkart, Andrew S. Triangle Shirt Waist Factory Building (Brown Building). N.d.

New York. National Park Service (nps.gov). Web. 29 Nov. 2014.

2. SuperStock. Group of People Working in a Textile Factory. 1900s. Masterfile.Masterfile. Web. 29 Nov. 2014.

3. Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Before. N.d. New York. Common Dreams. Web. 29 Nov. 2014. <http://www.commondreams.org/further/ 2014/03/25/triangle-shirtwaist-fire-too-much-blood-has-been-spilled>.

4. Unkown. Triangle Fire. 1911. New York. Remembering the 1911 Triangle Factory Fire. Web. 29 Nov. 2014. <http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire/primary/ photosIllustrations/slideshow.html?image_id=746&sec_id=3#screen>.

5. Unknown Photographer. After the Fire. 1911. Franklin Delano Roosevelt Library, New York. Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Gallery. Web. 29 Nov. 2014. <http://womenshistory.about.com/od/triangle/ig/Triangle-Factory-Fire/After-the-Fire.htm>.