Chapter Two

THE TRIANGLE SHIRTWAIST FIRE OF 1911... 

"The fire that changed America"

In the early 1900s New York City was burgeoning with immigrants who were eager to start a new life and desperate to find work. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was located on the top three floors of the Asch building in Manhattan and employed over 600 workers, most were young Jewish and Italian immigrant girls who did not speak English.

The Shirtwaist Factory was a true "sweatshop" where the girls worked at sewing machines that were cramped into long rows and were paid by the piece for their work. 

The owners of this factory, Max Blanck and Isaac Harris were notorious for their anti-worker policies. These young girls earned between $7.00 to $14.00 for a seven day work week that included 14 hour days. A sign over the elevator read ... 

"If you don't come in on Sunday, don't come in on Monday"

Blanck and Harris

Between 1902 and 1910 Harris and Blanck "torched" their business twice and collected the fire insurance money. All who worked there were well aware of the danger of fire but because of corruption in the garment industry little or no precautions were taken. 

The two owners refused to put in any kind of sprinkling system and although there were four elevator in the building only one was operational. In an attempt to curb any theft by the workers the owners insisted that the outside doors of the building were locked at the beginning of the workday. There was a fire escape but it was very narrow and would prove to be useless.

All of this set the stage for the horrific tragedy that happened on March 25, 1911

 

A fire started in one of the rag bins and attempts to extinguish it failed because of a rotted rusted hose. 


Girls fled to the stairways only to find themselves trapped behind the locked doors. The fire ladders only reached the 7th floor and the fire began on the 8th. Overcome by their plight, many workers jumped to their deaths. Those who did escape went up to the roof and crawled onto another building. 

The city watched in horror as 146 people lost their lives, 123 of them were young women, most of those teenagers. Both Harris and Blanck survived.

The owners escaped prosecution but the awful massacre propelled city leaders to legislate reforms.

Within two years thirty new laws were enacted that addressed child labor, workplace conditions and minimum wages. The Shirtwaist fire is remembered as the most infamous incident in American Industrial history.

Women would play an important part in the formation of labor unions and reforming work conditions. "We've come a long way baby"

Uprising 

by Margaret Peterson Haddix tells the story of three young immigrant girls caught in the fire that changed America. It is a must read!

WHAT IS A SHIRTWAIST?

The popular shirtwaist was a blouse modeled after a menswear shirt. It was touted as the attire for the independent working woman. 

It was offered in an array of colors and by the beginning of the 20th century designers had embellished it with lace and frills. A fashionable woman would have many shirtwaists and no two were ever the same.