While the building that housed the Triangle Shirtwaist factory was officially deemed fire-safe, conditions inside were unsanitary, badly ventilated and cluttered with flammable cloth, machine oil and dust. Newman would become one of the most effective organizers for the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU). were the acme of exploitation perpetrated by humans upon defenseless men, women and children-a sort of punishment for being poor and docile. As Pauline Newman, then a young immigrant from Lithuania who had worked for Harris and Blanck before the fire remembered,Īs I look back to those years of actual slavery I am quite certain that the conditions under which we worked and which existed in the factory of the Triangle Waist Co. Prior to the fire, Triangle company owners Isaac Harris and Max Blanck proudly stood against union pressures to improve working conditions. The centennial reminds us not only of an unnecessary tragedy and the continuing need to protect the most vulnerable of our society, but particularly of the power of women to organize and affect change. HBO begins broadcasting their tribute documentary, Triangle: Remembering the Fire, tonight, and the Internet is full of accounts and remembrances of the event. This Friday, March 25, marks the 100th anniversary of the fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company that killed 146 workers, mostly young Jewish and Italian immigrant women.
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