Triangle Fire

Charles Okoro

History 142

12 October 2012

The workday of the women of the triangle fire

The Triangle shirtwaist factory had a great number of Jews and Italian women. Most these women were young teenagers that were at least fourteen and fifteen. These young ladies were really hard working and diligent. Reading the book, it describes these women as immigrants who came to the United States with their families to look for a better opportunity to live their lives and provide for their families. Taking any opportunity they could find to help in their families’ upbringing they would take jobs that had little or no pay. Though working for basically nothing and having to stay twelve hours a day they were still looked upon as women unwanted in the society. They were treated like out casters; women that were from another world, women that their only main purpose in life was to work for a factory and were slaves at their place of work.

The employers regarded the women as thieves and lazy workers who did not deserve good working conditions or welfare although they made the factory one of the most profitable industries. However with all their hard work, they were paid little for the amount of hours they worked. These ladies suffered not only in their work place but also their private lives. They were searched every day and locked in a room until the end of the workday.

“The particularly objected to the lack of respect they were shown – marginalized as young immigrant women and daily “ searched like thieves “ before they left the factory….”pg. 11

Their families frown upon the fact that they were losing their cultural backgrounds and getting more Americanized working at the factory.

Though the society had painted an image of these so called working women as sad and women without lives, in reality, these women were happy with their lives and working condition though strikes were rose about the poor working conditions and the mistreating of the workers. These women...