The Triangle fire refers to a fire that occurred at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in Greenwich Village in New York City on March 25, 1911. The factory which was located on the seventh, eighth and ninth floors of Asch building. The factory was overcrowded with materials and people and the only exit was locked, as was the norm for many factories in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This was done to ensure that workers did not take any unauthorized breaks and that they did not steal any materials. In the case of the Triangle fire, not only was the only exit locked, the ladder on the fire truck only reached the sixth floor. The fire which was one of the deadliest industrial disasters in US history resulted in the deaths of 146 people. The deaths of the 146 people were caused by smoke inhalation, fire, and from jumping out the windows in order to escape the fire.
The factory which made women’s blouses was owned by Max Blanck and Isaac Harris employed over 500 workers. (von Drehle) The factory workers were primarily poor female immigrants, who worked long hours in horrible conditions for little pay (von Drehle) The fire was itself the crucial point in a series of events. These events would ultimately force the nation to change labor laws. The year before nearly twenty thousand people participated in a strike led by Clara Lemlich demanding better pay and less hours, which many of their employers agreed to (von Drehle) Some of the business owners like Blanck and Harris refused to give into the demands of their laborers instead choosing to hire strike-breakers and thugs to assault strike leaders along with having protesters arrested (von Drehle). Eventually Harris and Blanck agreed to the striker’s terms, but after the employees returned to work Blanck and Harris did nothing to address the worker’s issues. They would later be acquitted of negligent manslaughter because it could not be proven that they had any knowledge that the supervisors were locking the doors (von Drehle).
After the fire many people demanded that Blanck and Harris be held accountable for the worker’s deaths because they did not have procedures in place that permitted people a chance to escape in case of a disaster. The reason that the public started to demand that government/ employers make changes in labor laws was because many people watched as hundreds of women were jumping out windows in order to escape death by fire. The government responded to the fire by conducting interviews and investigations that resulted in 36 laws being passed. These laws were referred to by Samuel Glompers as being the result of “Women having to burn first in order for this to happen” (von Drehle). To clarify this means that people had to die before the government moved to make any changes. These laws did not just cover (1) work safety-these laws included requiring companies to have automatic sprinkler systems, mandatory fire drills, banned smoking in buildings, fire prevention classes, by law companies were also supposed to provide receptacles for disposing of flammable or toxic waste. Companies had to build fire walls, provide an adequate number of exists as well as making sure that they were not locked or blocked and that they opened outward. Employees also needed to be able to access fire extinguishers, alarm systems and sprinklers. (von Drehle)
Child labor laws were passed saying that: Children between 14-16 could not be employed unless they had an 8-year public school course. The teens also had to undergo an examination by two doctors to ensure they were in ideal health before being permitted to work. Children under 16 were not permitted to work before 8 am and after 5pm (von Drehle) (3) a kind of maternity leave in which women could not return to work within four weeks of given birth (von Drehle) (4) sanitation standards, which included working toilets along with hot and cold running water. Employers were to ensure that employees had an area to eat that was away from any poisonous materials. (Von Drehle) (5) hours worked- standards included limiting the work week for women and boys under 18 to 54 hours a week. Overtime was permitted at 1 hour a day as long as this did not cause the employee to go over 54 hours. The companies were prohibited from having women and children work seven days. Other regulations that were passed included employers being unable to have women and children work before 6am or after 9pm (von Drehle).
These standards were initially ignored by employers who paid off inspectors, but within a few years these regulations were commonplace across the country. These laws were the forbearers of the OSHA regulations that all businesses must abide by today, but all of them have changed since they were passed following the Triangle Fire. Including (1) wages and hours, unlike the law passed after the Triangle fire which limited the number of hours a person can work in a week to 54. The current law allows employees to work as many hours as they want, but the company must pay time and a half after 40 hours a week or 12 hours a day. (2) employers must provide a safe workplace that is relatively free from hazards (3) workers are able to get workers compensation from injuries obtained on the job (4) employers are not permitted to ban or hinder their employees from forming unions. (5) even though employment is often listed as being at will, an employer cannot fire someone for discriminatory or various other reasons.
Work Cited
Drehle, David Von. Triangle: The Fire That Changed America. New York: Atlantic Monthly, 2003. Print.
