Susan Bernstein, The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory (1992)

The beginning of the twentieth century saw several labor reform movements, largely led by members of the upper class, which welcomed women. The Women's Trade Union League (WTUL) advocated better working conditions. It required that half its membership be workers, but internal conflicts caused inaction--rich members had political influence but were out of touch with workers. The International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) experienced similar conflict in its early years but became the strongest women's union in the country after the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.

Since many factories were fire traps, and safety laws were not enforced, unions worried that a tragedy would occur. They issued public warnings that conditions in factories could lead to disaster. One union leader predicted that safety laws would not be enforced until tragedy struck. In 1909, workers at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory went on strike when women suspected of being union organizers were fired. The New York League of the WTUL and the ILGWU both supported the walk out. At its peak, 20,000 workers were on strike. Although the effort resulted in few material gains, the strike proved that women could be a force in the organization and work of the textile unions. Despite the union activity, wage, hour and safety laws were neither strengthened nor enforced.

At the time of the 1911 Shirtwaist Factory fire, tenement laws were laxly enforced. The few inspectors were easily bribed to overlook violations. Regulations concerning fire escapes and hallway lighting were observed in some new buildings, but older buildings were not retrofitted to conform to safety standards. Real estate interests advocated amendments to safety laws to render the laws ineffective. For them, housing regulations were seen as an infringement on property owners' rights.

The structure of and working conditions at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory exacerbated the damage caused by the fire. The factory had never been inspected, nor had fire drills been conducted. When the fire broke out, the factory's fire doors were locked. Cleaning cloths, paper patterns and blouses inside the factory rapidly caught fire. There was only one elevator, and many died trapped in the elevator shaft. The stairways inside the building had been blocked by the factory managers. The sole fire escape was so flimsy it could only hold one person at a time, and it fell to the ground when it became overloaded, killing even more. Many workers died before they came close to escape. When the fire department came, its hoses didn't reach the fire on the top floors of the building. One hundred and twenty workers reached safety by climbing across the roof to another building, but many died jumping out the windows. The brick building and roof trapped the heat, and the stairwells and elevator shafts drew the fire upwards to the top floors where the workers were trapped. On hundred and forty seven died in the fire which lasted less than half an hour.

At memorial services for the victims, people spoke of the loss of life and the obligation of the labor movement to fight the evils that caused the fire. Hundreds of thousands attended. It was considered the largest labor strike in history. After the fire, New York created a Factory Investigation Commission, which inspected safety violations and made progress towards eliminating child labor. The state legislature passed safety laws, some of which called for stronger fire escapes and hallway lighting in old buildings. Workers compensation laws also were passed. Finally, safety laws began to be enforced. Working conditions became safer, but only in the aftermath of a terrible tragedy.

 

Revised July 23, 2003 (MD)