The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Tragedy of 1911

Labor unions have always been controversial because they deal with power, the power of wages and benefits versus profits. While union demands can sometimes appear excessive, we should never forget how valuable they are to workers.

The following is a tale that dramatically demonstrates this.On the corner of Washington Place and Greene Street in New York City’s Greenwich Village stands an eleven story building, now part of New York University. In 1911 it housed factories including the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory which occupied the 8th, 9th and 10th floors and manufactured women’s blouses.

So peaceful now, it was on March 25th 1911 a site of unspeakable horror. Triangle Shirtwaist employed about five hundred workers, most of them Italian and Jewish immigrant girls, aged 14 to 43, who labored 52 hours a week for a paltry seven to twelve dollars per week. To prevent unauthorized work breaks, doors to the staircases and elevators were kept locked. It was a typical factory of that era. Scraps of cotton lined the factory floors, perfect fuel for a fire. There were of course, no water sprinklers. On that March day a fire of unknown origin quickly became a conflagration. The fire soon blocked the elevators and stairs. The overloaded fire escape collapsed, sending workers to their deaths. The fire department’s ladder wagons arrived quickly, but since their ladders only reached the seventh floor, they could not save anybody. Employees, their clothes becoming fiery torches, jumped to their deaths. 146 people, 123 of them women, were killed. It was New York’s deadliest industrial disaster.

The factory’s owners, Max Blanch and Isaac Harris, themselves Jewish immigrants, were charged with manslaughter, but at their trial defense lawyer, Max Steuer, argued that his clients had not broken any laws. They were acquitted of the criminal charges. A 1913 civil suit forced them to pay $75 in damages for each death. The legacy of this was the growth of labor unions, most notably the International Lady’s Garment. Worker’s Union (ILGWU) which brought safety regulations.

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