The Triangle Fire: a Brief History with Documents

March 25, 1911 was a day that many victims, families, as well as those who were on the streets witnessing the most terrifying event that “changed America”. A fire broke out at the Triangle Waist Company causing 146 people to die out of the 500 employees. Those who survived the fire still relive the moments of what happened. Not only do the survivors have to remember what happened the day the fire broke out but also the pain and terror they had to endure while working there.

The Triangle Company was a shirtwaist factory in New York owned by Max Blanck and Isaac Harris. The employees of the factory were mainly women, as young as fourteen years old who were either Italian or European Jewish immigrants trying to find a better life. Instead, they lived in poverty and worked in a factory that had poor working conditions. Many of the women working at the factory were immigrants that were still new to the language and culture. The factory owners took advantage of that and hired the women with wages that were lower then men.

Women working at the factories were never treated with respect. Bosses and owners monitored them every minute of the day making sure that they were doing their job. Workers had to purchase their own needles and thread and were always “searched like thieves” (Argersinger) before leaving work. They constantly yell and swear at the workers and sometimes-even call them names that weren’t nice to hear. Due to the lack of respect and dissatisfaction of the working conditions, hundreds of workers went to seek help from the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) as well as the Women’s Trade Union League (WTUL). Many were very scared to seek for help because it could lead to losing their job with a chance of violence against the workers.

The Women Shirtwaist strike happened in December of 1909 and continued for weeks. The strike caused many people to be beaten by the police and company guards. Some were also arrested repeatedly. The outcome of...