Today in Labor History March 25, 1911: Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City killed 146 people, mostly immigrant women and young girls who were working in sweatshop conditions. As tragic as this fire was for poor, working class women, over 100 workers died on the job each day in the U.S. in 1911. What was most significant was that this tragedy became a flash point for worker safety and public awareness of sweatshop conditions.

The Triangle workers had to work from 7:00 am until 8:00 pm, seven days a week. The work was almost non-stop. They got one break per day (30 minutes for lunch). For this they earned only $6.00 per week. In some cases, they had to provide their own needles and thread. Furthermore, the bosses locked the women inside the building to minimize time lost to bathroom breaks.

A year prior to the fire, 20,000 garment workers walked off the job at 500 clothing factories in New York to protest the deplorable working conditions. They demanded a 20% raise, 52-hour work week and overtime pay. Over 70 smaller companies conceded to the union’s demands within the first 48 hours of the strike. However, the bosses at Triangle formed an employers’ association with the owners of the other large factories. Soon after, strike leaders were arrested. Some were fined. Others were sent to labor camps. They also used armed thugs to beat up and intimidate strikers. By the end of the month, almost all of the smaller factories had conceded to the union. By February, 1910, the strike was finally settled.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #TriangleShirtwaistFire #workplacedeaths #strike #union #immigrant #sweatshop #childlabor #workplacesafety #fire #women #prison #newyork

Red states are rolling back child labor laws. Additionally, the number of employment violations has quintupled in ten years. Kids as young as ten were employed by McDonalds. Kids were also working in hazardous positions such as in meatpacking plants.
Prepare to see more of this.
#childlabor

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/22/child-labor-protections-republicans

Today in Labor History March 18, 1871: The Paris Commune began on this date. It started with resistance to occupying German troops and the power of the bourgeoisie. They governed from a feminist and anarcho-communist perspective, abolishing rent and child labor, and giving workers the right to take over workplaces abandoned by the owners. The revolutionaries took control of Paris and held on to it for two months, until it was brutally suppressed. During Semaine Sanglante, the nationalist forces slaughtered 15,000-20,000 Communards. Hundreds more were tried and executed or deported. Many of the more radical communards were followers of Aguste Blanqui. Élisée Reclus was another leader in the commune. Many women participated, like Louise Michel and Joséphine Marchais, including in the armed insurrection. Nathalie Lemel, a socialist bookbinder, and Élisabeth Dmitrieff, a young Russian exile, created the Women's Union for the Defence of Paris and Care of the Wounded, demanding gender and wage equality.

Read my complete biograph of Louise Michel here: https://michaeldunnauthor.com/2024/04/20/louise-michel/

#workingclass #LaborHistory #paris #commune #anarchism #communism #execution #massacre #feminism #ChildLabor #Revolution #wageequality #socialism #agusteblanqui #ÉliséeReclus #womenshistorymonth #louisemichel

7 pics: Ricardo Romero on early 20th century child labor in Pataias, Portugal

https://streetartutopia.com/2021/11/26/7-pics-ricardo-romero-on-early-20th-century-child-labor-in-pataias-portugal/

Today in Labor History March 8, 1908: Thousands of workers in the New York needle trades (mostly women) launched a strike for higher wages, shorter hours and an end to child labor. They chose this date in commemoration of the 1857 strike, women garment workers struck in New York City for a 10-hour workday, better working conditions, and equal rights for women. In 1910, German communist Clara Zetkin proposed to the Second International, that March 8 be celebrated as International Women’s Day to commemorate the 1908 strike. In 1911, over 1 million people participated in International Women’s Day events in Austria-Hungary, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. In Vienna, they carried banners honoring the martyrs of the Paris Commune. In 1917, Women’s Day protests and labor strikes in Petrograd helped spark the Russian Revolution. Because of its communist affiliations, and the anti-communist propaganda and persecution by the U.S. government, International Women’s Day was largely forgotten in the U.S., until feminist Laura X organized a protest in Berkeley, California on March 8, 1969. She also called for a Women’s History Month to be built around International Women’s Day. Later that year, she took the surname X to protest men’s legal ownership of women and the anonymity of women’s history.

In 1975, the United Nations recognized March 8 as International Women’s Day. In 1979, thousands of women protested in the streets of Tehran against the regime’s sexist laws, particularly the mandatory hijab. The six days of protest forced the government to temporarily withdraw the decree requiring veiling of women. But soon after this, the conservatives successfully eliminated what remained of the liberals and left, securing complete control of the government, and reintroduced the mandatory hijab, which remains to this day.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #internationalwomensday #strike #feminism #sexism #IWW #equalpay #equalrights #GenderEquality #iwd #socialism #communism #womenshistorymonth #childlabor #clarazetkin #iran #revolution