Triangle: Remembering the Fire

[Marc]

Triangle: Remembering the Fire

Triangle_Shirtwaist_Factory_fire

"This is the week of the 100th anniversary of the Triangle fire, and Monday night (tonight!) at 9:00, HBO is airing a new documentary. Triangle: Remembering the Fire is relatively brief, but it adds a great deal to the sketch, on several levels.

The documentary first places the Triangle fire in context: Less than two years earlier, garment workers had gone on strike in the Uprising of 20,000, making outrageous demands like a 52-hour work week and overtime pay."

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City on March 25, 1911, was the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the city of New York and resulted in the fourth highest loss of life from an industrial accident in U.S. history. The fire caused the deaths of 146 garment workers, who either died from the fire or jumped to their deaths. Most of the victims were recent immigrant Jewish women aged sixteen to twenty-three. Many of the workers could not escape the burning building because the managers had locked the doors to the stairwells and exits. People jumped from the eighth, ninth, and tenth floors. The fire led to legislation requiring improved factory safety standards and helped spur the growth of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, which fought for better working conditions for sweatshop workers.

The factory was located in the Asch Building, at 29 Washington Place, now known as the Brown Building, which has been designated a National Historic Landmark and a New York City landmark.

[Randy]

It was pretty good, especially the interviews with descendants of the victims.

Thanks for recommending it

[BradM]

You know... I still wonder is some elements of this disaster need constant reminding. I am all the time in places (restaurants, retail, etc.) and have junk piled up in front of the exit doors and such. I realize they make for a really good storage place. But....

If there is fire, calm heads will not be prevailing. People are going to rush the doors, and if there is even a high chair in the way, someone will fall and get trampled.

The one good thing technology has given us is the ability to put the emergency fire locks on the doors, where they can only be opened one direction. It still keeps the doors safe, and allows for quick exit.

[BradM]

I've been critical of unions here, but things like this is their purpose and value. When you have to stand up against management and "force" basic human conditions like safety, excessive work hours, etc., then the union becomes a necessity.

Unions/no unions, it saddens me when anyone treats another human being with such disregard; as if they are "expendable". Locking the doors so someone can't leave their work. WT??

Set aside safety, that's just rude.

[True Position]

The Consumerist posted some comments from business owners at the time:

"I wonder do the American people ever stop to realize that these social uplifters are one of the chief causes of the high cost of living. If they had their way, a can of tomatoes instead of costing 12 cents would cost at least 50 cents. This is the inevitable result of their endeavors," said the director of the largest canning company in the state in response to both minimum wage law requirements and the efforts of the Factory Investigating Commission.

At the time, the president of the Real Estate Board of New York City said, "To my mind this is all wrong....The experience of the past proves conclusively that the best government is the least possible government, that the unfettered initiative of the individual is the force that makes a country great and that this initiative should never be bound..."

[bobdoering]

In Reply to Parent Post by BradM

I've been critical of unions here, but things like this is their purpose and value. When you have to stand up against management and "force" basic human conditions like safety, excessive work hours, etc., then the union becomes a necessity.

Yes, it is their "mission creep" that has diluted their purpose. We can probably add that same problem to the government controls that were put in place for the same reasons. If the government was efficient and effective, there would be no need for the unions. But, they are so bad, they need unions for government workers. Conversely, the government needs to investigate unions for their dicey dealings. Bottom line - they both can't get their charter accomplished effectively, and business does not have these things in their charter. To put it in the simplest terms: they all suck.

So, in the best we can do is "trust but verify." Sound familiar?

[Marc]

In Reply to Parent Post by bobdoering

Yes, it is their "mission creep" that has diluted their purpose. <snip>

As has happened with large corporations and government as well. All power structures are like that.

[Icy Mountain]

My wife always gets a giggle when we sit down in a restaurant, club, grange hall, whatever. Between ordering a drink and receiving it, I always scan the place for exits and mentally plan my way out. I started this habit after the Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire and the behavior was only reinforced by the The Station Fire during a Great White concert.

A few years ago, we were in a Moose Lodge and I spotted a fire in the kitchen through the delivery window. I grabbed my wife, yelled fire and headed for the back exit door about 10 feet away. I pulled the fire alarm on my way out. Fortunately, the kitchen staff extinguished the blaze themselves. We stood in the parking lot for 5 minutes, with about a half dozen others, before the smoke started to force the rest of the people from the building. Every single one of the 100 or so people came out the same front door and it took them about 10 minutes. I expect that 3/4 of them wouldn't have made it if the fire had not been controlled.

I don't take chances. If you see me bolting for the door, it's a good idea to follow.