The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire

Examples of The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in the following topics:

• Early Efforts in Urban Reform

  • Early efforts in urban reform were driven by poor conditions exposed by tragedies such as the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.
  • The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire on March 25, 1911, was the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of New York City and resulted in the fourth-highest loss of life from an industrial accident in U.S. history.
  • 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.
  • It was largely spontaneous, sparked by a short walkout of workers of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, involving only about 20 percent of the workforce.
  • The union also became more involved in electoral politics, in part as a result of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.

• The New Immigrants on Strike

  • The New York shirtwaist strike of 1909 (also known as the "Uprising of the 20,000") was a labor strike primarily involving Jewish women working in New York shirtwaist factories.
  • The end of the strike was followed only a year later by the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, which exposed the plight of immigrant women working in dangerous and difficult conditions.
  • Many of the female immigrants toiled in the garment industry-- particularly in the Triangle and Leiserson shirtwaist factories-- which was booming in turn of the century New York.
  • In September 1909, the workers at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory took a vote to determine whether they would continue to participate in a company-sponsored benevolent association or to organize under the United Hebrew Trades (UHT), an association of Jewish labor unions.
  • The vote was in favor of the UHT, but the workers who had organized the vote were immediately fired by Triangle.

• Progressives and the Working Class

  • Three practices were developed to accomplish this: the referendum, the initiative, and the recall.
  • The initiative permitted voters to petition and force the legislature to vote on a certain bill.
  • Finally, the recall provided the opportunity to remove elected officials from office before the end of their terms.
  • Many states enacted factory inspection laws; by 1916, nearly two-thirds of the states required compensation for the victims in industrial accidents.
  • States also regulated female labor by setting maximum work hours, especially after an accident at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory resulted in the deaths of over 100 women.

• Elements of Reform

  • Three practices - the referendum, the initiative, and the recall - were created.
  • The initiative permitted the voters to petition and force the legislature to vote on a certain bill.
  • Many states enacted factory inspection laws, and by 1916 nearly two-thirds of the states required compensation for the victims in industrial accidents.
  • In 1912, the United States Children's Bureau was created in order to investigate "all matters pertaining to the welfare of children and child life among all classes of our people. " At the instigation of middle class coalitions, many states enacted factory inspection laws, and by 1916 two-thirds of the states required compensation for victims of industrial accidents.
  • States also regulated female labor by setting maximum work hours, especially when an accident at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory resulted in the deaths of more than 100 women.