LIKE ANY OTHER TRAGEDY, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of March 25, 1911, created undeniable facts and truths. There was no doubt that the death toll of 146 men and women and the gruesome horror of imagining trapped workers jumping out of factory windows and leaping down elevator shafts to save their lives stunned and saddened many. The blaze occurred at a time in the country’s history when immigration and industry were booming, and U.S. progress was inarguably pockmarked by the existence of sweatshops and industries with frequently dangerous and dismal labor conditions. Workers at Triangle and other factories across the nation had taken the initial steps to rally for more rights, but yet another unmistakable reality was that their battle would be a long and hard one.
People from congressmen to captains of industry were often unaware of the drudgery that ordinary laborers faced and the life-threatening risks they regularly took merely to earn a week’s wages. Meanwhile, business owners had a vested interest in protecting their levels of productivity, though this motivating force sometimes came at the expense of their employees.
With all these indisputable facts about the era in which the Triangle inferno erupted, there nonetheless remain countless questions and the more blurry issues of social conscience versus economic considerations. When 146 lives were lost on March 25, 1911, there was an immediate desire to cast blame. Were New York building inspectors responsible, or did the fault lie with Triangle’s owners for operating in violation of fi re safety statutes by locking exit doors? Was it possible that the laborers themselves should be held accountable for panicking in the middle of the crisis? Could the finger even be pointed at society as a whole for condoning the existence of sweatshops by turning a blind eye to the plight of the working class?
Similar dilemmas and seemingly unanswerable questions are present nearly one hundred years later, both about the Triangle blaze and the modern sweatshops that continue to exist across the globe. What, if anything, have twenty-first-century citizens learned from the disaster of March 25, 1911, and how have they applied these lessons to current times? What strides did labor groups, business leaders, and heads of state make to rectify working conditions in the early 1900s, and how are these organizations and individuals furthering a legacy of labor rights almost a century after the inferno?
Even with the varying perspectives of differing social factions and players, it is critical to reach common goals and understandings to prevent similar tragedies. Put another way, it is essential to evaluate the historical events surrounding the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, to address the viewpoints of
all those affected and involved, and to use this knowledge to ensure that the 146 victims did not die in vain.
– Katie Marsico, The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire : its legacy of labor rights (2010)
