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NEW YORK—Every year, city officials, union representatives, and concerned citizens gather at the corner of Greene Street and Washington Place in lower Manhattan to memorialize the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911 that claimed the lives of 146 young women. The women died because the factory lacked fire safety precautions and the industry lacked regulations protecting the safety of workers. As over 60 women jumped to their deaths to escape the flames, a movement to institute worker safety regulations was born in New York State. Unions organized and New York became the first state to implement labor regulations.
"In many ways, that was the day that the New York State Department of Labor was born. It was forged from that terrible fire," said Linda Angelo, Commissioner for the New York State Department of Labor.
Angelo stressed that it took the graphic spectacle of those young women forced to plummet to the concrete to wake legislators to the need for worker safety regulations, way back in 1911. She explained how public awareness raised around the fire went on to spark a national labor movement that eventually saw Francis Perkins appointed Secretary of Labor for Franklin D. Roosevelt—the first woman in U.S. history to serve as a member of a presidential cabinet.
This year marks 95 years since the fire, and those who come out to remember each year also come out to remind the public that the plight of America's workers is an ongoing story—that the fight for safe workplaces is still alive and well.
"By our actions today we keep the memory of the brave triangle workers alive, but also we use it, to make sure that we help to ensure the health and safety of future generations of American workers, understanding that they have many enemies these days—and if we do not stand together we'll find ourselves moving back in history," said New York City comptroller Bill Thompson, addressing an enthusiastic crowd of union members and school children.
He reminded everyone that as comptroller he is guardian of the pension funds of all city employees, and he made it clear that responsible investment of those funds is high on his priority list.
"As comptroller of this city I am moved by stories like this to work harder to make sure that as guardian of our pension funds, we make sure that the companies that we invest in abide by fare labor practices. We also have to look back to understand that history tends to repeat itself, and that labor these days within our country is under attack. We have to stand up today to make sure that 100 years ago or 95 years ago doesn't happen again," said Thompson.
Following a recent account from a hotel laundry worker who nearly fell victim to a fire after hotel management refused to abide by existing fire safety precautions, Angelo reminded us all that, "today's sweatshops are no longer confined to the garment industry. Inferior working conditions are now found in restaurants, laundries, grocery stores, bakeries and gardening services—the victims are usually recent immigrants who barely speak English."
Among the union leaders to chime in on the event were Randi Weingarten from the United Federation of Teachers and Roger Toussaint, head of the Transit Workers' Alliance.
Weingarten explained to the public school kids in attendance the importance of standing up and speaking out for their rights. She coaxed them into a cheer of "Speak up! Stand up! And don't shut up!" to the rousing applause of all present.
Toussaint was blunt—encouraging all present to remember the dead, but "fight like hell for the living!" He ticked-off a list of proofs that workers safety is still not being insured in the United States. He talked of the coal miners in West Virginia who died needlessly because of coal company negligence, and brought up the yearly deaths of transit workers. But Toussaint echoed Weingarten in emphasizing the importance of the next generation.
The memorial ended with the fire department raising a ladder to the sixth story of what used to be the Triangle Shirtwaist factory—only to the sixth floor to evoke the inadequacy of that day. The school children placed flowers, one-by-one at the base of a large memorial wreath as a fire official toned a silver bell 146 times—one note per victim.
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