John AutryThe Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City caught fire on this day 114 years ago, causing the deaths of 146 garment workers -- mostly young immigrant women, of Jewish and Italian heritage, who jumped from the 9th and 10th floors because the fire department's ladders weren’t long enough to reach them. Factory owners had locked doors to stairwells and exits to keep out union organizers and prevent workers from taking breaks and stealing fabric.
An era of great wealth and urban squalor, underpaid, overworked employees, along with overcrowded and unsafe working conditions, add to that state legislators whose votes were bought by industrial magnates. The president of New York’s Real Estate Board warned AGAINST improving safety standards. "The experience of the past proves conclusively that the best government is the least possible government,” he argued (ie: small government). The Board predicted safety laws would drive "manufacturers out of the City and State of New York" (drying up the pipeline that fed the graft and corruption.)
But, safety standards were established, and the International Ladies Garment Worker's Union (ILGWU) became powerful enough to protect workers against the worst forms of exploitation.
