Joshua Robinson
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
In the Early 1900’s many immigrants came to American looking to for a better future. Many of the families coming to America had very little possessions, and especially money when they made their trip. Many of the family members upon arriving had to find a job to help support their families. One of the places teenage girls found a job was on the eighth and ninth floors of the Asch building in downtown New York; the Triangle Shirtwaist Company. Many of the company’s employees were women and young female teenagers. One of the most deadly workplace incidents in New York took place at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company on Saturday March 25, 1911. This Incident changed the American workplace, and provided laws …show more content…
There was absolutely no regulations at these companies. Many of the employees often worked for fourteen hours a day and received roughly two dollars a day, given they made no mistakes that day. In the workplace these women had no rights, they were not allowed to stop for any reason until their work day was over. In 1909 there was a Strike by the women against the Triangle Shirtwaist Company, for higher pay and shorter working days. During a Union meeting Clara Lemlich a Triangle Shirtwaist employee took the podium and declared that the women would take a general strike. By November 24, 1909 upwards of 20,000 workers walked off the job. This angered the owners and soon they were paying off police, gangsters, and prostitutes to start fights with the workers. This led to numerous workers being thrown in jail. After months of no production many of the business agreed to the worker’s demands and allowed unions in their workplace. Triangle Shirtwaist on the other hand did increase wages and shorten working hours, but did not allow unions to form in their …show more content…
The workers could not leave until all their bags had be personally inspected by them. On Saturday March 25, 1911 this practice would prove very deadly for some workers. On that Saturday everything was as normal, the working day drew to an end when a cigarette butt started a fire. The owners failed to alert their employees, instead they fled to the roof and went to the building next door and escaped the fire. The workers on the other hand were left in a flaming room. Many of these women tried to use the balconies and ladders on the outside of the building to escape. A few women were able to escape, but from the crowding of the ladder and weight it soon gave way and many of the women fell to their deaths. Others tried the elevators, and when the first elevator made its way up many of the women rushed in and packed it quickly. As the elevator went down, some women were pushed into the elevator shaft and fell to their death. As time went on the flames and heat got worse, the fabric and machines aided to the fire. The last resort of the women was to try the Washington Place stairway, but were unable to open the door because they did not have the key. Many of the spectators in the street watched as women and teenage girls burned against the glass. The fire department tried to
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
In the Early 1900’s many immigrants came to American looking to for a better future. Many of the families coming to America had very little possessions, and especially money when they made their trip. Many of the family members upon arriving had to find a job to help support their families. One of the places teenage girls found a job was on the eighth and ninth floors of the Asch building in downtown New York; the Triangle Shirtwaist Company. Many of the company’s employees were women and young female teenagers. One of the most deadly workplace incidents in New York took place at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company on Saturday March 25, 1911. This Incident changed the American workplace, and provided laws …show more content…
There was absolutely no regulations at these companies. Many of the employees often worked for fourteen hours a day and received roughly two dollars a day, given they made no mistakes that day. In the workplace these women had no rights, they were not allowed to stop for any reason until their work day was over. In 1909 there was a Strike by the women against the Triangle Shirtwaist Company, for higher pay and shorter working days. During a Union meeting Clara Lemlich a Triangle Shirtwaist employee took the podium and declared that the women would take a general strike. By November 24, 1909 upwards of 20,000 workers walked off the job. This angered the owners and soon they were paying off police, gangsters, and prostitutes to start fights with the workers. This led to numerous workers being thrown in jail. After months of no production many of the business agreed to the worker’s demands and allowed unions in their workplace. Triangle Shirtwaist on the other hand did increase wages and shorten working hours, but did not allow unions to form in their …show more content…
The workers could not leave until all their bags had be personally inspected by them. On Saturday March 25, 1911 this practice would prove very deadly for some workers. On that Saturday everything was as normal, the working day drew to an end when a cigarette butt started a fire. The owners failed to alert their employees, instead they fled to the roof and went to the building next door and escaped the fire. The workers on the other hand were left in a flaming room. Many of these women tried to use the balconies and ladders on the outside of the building to escape. A few women were able to escape, but from the crowding of the ladder and weight it soon gave way and many of the women fell to their deaths. Others tried the elevators, and when the first elevator made its way up many of the women rushed in and packed it quickly. As the elevator went down, some women were pushed into the elevator shaft and fell to their death. As time went on the flames and heat got worse, the fabric and machines aided to the fire. The last resort of the women was to try the Washington Place stairway, but were unable to open the door because they did not have the key. Many of the spectators in the street watched as women and teenage girls burned against the glass. The fire department tried to