The Triangle Factory Fire, 1911
On March 25, 1911, there was a historical event of a fire tragedy that broke out at the Triangle Waist Factory in New York City. In about eighteen minutes, the fire had claimed 146 lives. Among the dead were women, girls, and immigrant workers that were employed in the Triangle Waist Factory. Notably, the fire broke out a few moments to conclude the industry operations for the day. After the event, the Triangle Factory Fire tragedy has been a characteristic historic event in New York City. Despite that the fire tragedy caused significant losses to franchisees of the textile industry as well as the entire fraternity; subsequent historic occasions indicate that the fire tragedy was initially preventable. The impacts of the fire tragedy relate to politicized inhumane decisions that deterred the provision of a conducive working environment that guarantee the safety of workers as well as the assets that give meaning to the daily operations.
Ironically, the claimed state of the building was not in a position to trigger a fire outbreak. As presented in Figure 1, the 3D portrait of the 9th floor depicts several managerial issues that contributed to the extensive fire tragedy that claimed the lives of innocent workers who were moved by the need to make ends meet.[1] The structure presented in Figure 1 was designed for a fireproof building.[2] However, the detailed specifications of the premise paved the way for lack of safety for the people who worked there. The spirit of industrialism was historically registered and remained a reminder of New York City for about 90 years. For instance, some of the critical specifications of the building that depict the exploitative use of labor-capital to attract significant revenue to the business are the section labeled 11 was a flammable oil barrel, 2 is a rusty fire escape, which was fallen, and 4 is a short ladder that could only reach the sixth floor. Based on these factors of the textile business’ 9th floor, it is arguably reasonable that the fire tragedy was triggered by a lack of consideration for the welfare, safety, and wellbeing of the workforce. Rather, the business prioritized the workers’ productivity to echo the spirit of industrialism in a capitalist economy.
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Figure 1: a 3D structure of the Triangle Waist Factory building’s 9th floor[3]
After the occurrence of the historical incident, accurate information about the state of the factory premise and the chain of causality could not be traced. Arguably, there was a managerial plan to hinder American society from uncovering the truth behind the historic fire tragedy in New York along Greene Street in 1911. Leon Stein, one of the long-serving practitioners in the garment business, took the challenge to uncover the truth behind the legendary and saddening fire tragedy that left several workers dead. Leon Stein is reported to have prioritized the use of interviews on the survivors of the tragic fire event to uncover the truth behind the cause of the fire.
As David Von Drehle retells the story behind the historic fire tragedy in Triangle Waist Factory, it is clear that neither New York State Governor (Alfred E. Smith), New Deal architect (Senator Robert F. Wagner), nor the Secretary of Labor (Frances Perkins) could produce factual information about the cause or organizational state that led to the outbreak of the Triangle Waist Factory tragedy in March 1911.[4] Key to note, the Journalist asserts that not even the official transcript of the trial of the company owners; Isaac Harris and Max Blanck could be traced in his search for the truth behind the historical event that described the New York City for more than 90 years without a clear understanding of what exactly triggered the fire tragedy. As evidenced by Leon Stein and David Von Drehle, vital information that could account for the chain of causality could not be recovered nor traced for a reason.
The Triangle Waist Factory fire tragedy led to an uncountable loss of young women that worked in the garment factory. According to the Call, microfilmed record of a Socialist newspaper, there was encrypted information regarding the Harris and Blanck reluctance toward the unionization of the workforce for the sake of adopting labor Union policies that could protect and advocate for the rights and freedoms of employees.[5] As a result, American society, with the help of the media, saw the need not only to uncover the history of the fire tragedy but also to provide and share information about the factors that contributed to the fire outbreak. By avoiding the institution of labor Union policies, Triangle Waist Factory’s managers (Harris and Blanck) reveal the intentional motive to oppressively take advantage of the poor service providers to produce textile goods and dominate the market without considering the needs, incentives, and welfare of the workforce.[6]
Notably, this 1911 historical fire tragedy at Triangle Waist Factory marked the onset of employee protection policies and law, which aimed at addressing the needs and requirements of the workforce in industrial sectors. Policies and legal provisions such as the American minimum wage Act were inspired by the need to protect and conserve the rights and privileges of workers as fellow humans to employers amid their engagement in contracted employment agreements.[7] The legal clauses and policies are also significant in optimizing the productivity of the industrial sectors with a consideration of the impact assessment for the various business dealings and decisions.[8] These reforms have led to a sense of appreciation and a positive embrace of the workers’ prolific contribution to goal attainment in the various corporates.
The leading cause of the fire on the 9th floor of the Asch building was reported to have emanated from one of the trash bins. The building was filled with trash bins that were full of either cotton or clothing materials. Such that, the management depicted an irresponsive way of managing the people as well as the environment they work in for the production of the targeted deliverables.[9] The fire not only brought down the building and claimed workers’ lives but also created a remarkable history of industrialism that shaped the legal and policy structures of the United States upon realizing the factors that contributed to the global and historic fire tragedy.
Labor Unions have also been at the forefront when it comes to reaching out and advocating for the care for employees’ rights and freedoms while at work.[10] For example, workplace safety is by law a mandatory obligation of the employers such that, it is their responsibility to ensure that the workers they engage in various projects are free from risks and hazards at the workplace.[11] Key to note, the New York County Lawyers Association (NYCLA) played a core role in retrieving information about the situation and cause of the Triangle Waist Factory fire tragedy, which occurred on the Asch building that was occupied by the organizational fraternity for the daily business operations.[12] Further, the legal and policy reforms were reinstituted in the New York County law and the American Federal Constitution to use Labor Unions to protect and preserve the rights of employees according to the acceptable justice and ethical standards.
Politics dominated the management of the Triangle Waist Factory, leading to a mismanaged workplace that prompted the fast-spread of fire. In this sense, politics doctrine relates to the quest for who gets what at what time, and through which techniques. This explains the cooperation of external practitioners, such as the members of the legal system, when hiding important information regarding the state of the Asch building and the management system within the garment corporation.[13] For example, the reluctance of the management toward unionizing the labor-capital was inspired by the greed for larger shares of the revenue while exhaustively exploiting the ordinary worker through unfair wages in poor working environments.[14]
In a nutshell, the Triangle Waist Factory fire tragedy marked the time for America to realize the need for employee needs and rights amid the growth of industrialism and capitalism. Poor management decisions that led to the prioritization of monetary benefits at the expense of the welfare and wellbeing of the women and girls that worked at the Triangle Waist Factory condemned the deteriorated conscience for the workers’ safety. Also, the tragedy prompted reforms and improvements in the legal and policy systems for a better America amid the growing industrialism in a capitalist society.
Bibliography
David Von Drehle. “Uncovering the History of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire.” Smithsonian Magazine. (Aug. 2006). Retrieved from: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/uncovering-the-history-of-the-triangle-shirtwaist-fire-124701842/
Mercurio, Mia Lynn, and Régine Randall. “Tributes beyond Words: Art Educators’ Use of Textiles to Memorialize the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.” Journal for Learning through the Arts 12, no. 1 (2016): n1. Retrieved from: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1125183.pdf
Patrick J. Kiger. “How the Horrific Tragedy of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Led to Workplace Safety Laws: The 1911 factory blaze shocked the nation and spurred new regulations to protect factory workers. History.” (2019). Retrieved from: https://www.history.com/news/triangle-shirtwaist-factory-fire-labor-safety-laws
Quinn, Mae C. “Fallen Woman Further (Re) Framed: Jewels and Travels, Tragedies and Secrets, Judge Jean Hortense Norris.” U. Kan. L. Rev. 68 (2019): 227. Retrieved from: https://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/bitstream/handle/1808/29984/1%20-%20Quinn.pdf?sequence=1
Remembering the 1911 Triangle Factory Fire. “Near Closing Time On March 25, 1911, a fire broke out at the Triangle Waist Factory in New York City. Within 18 minutes, 146 people were dead as a result of the fire.” (2018). Retrieved from: http://trianglefire.ilr.cornell.edu/ (Accessed April 1, 2020).
Robinson, Paul H., and Sarah Robinson. “Tragedy, outrage & reform crimes that changed our world: 1911–Triangle Factory Fire–Building Safety Codes.” (2016): 16-50. Retrieved from: http://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2706&context=faculty_scholarship
[1] Remembering the 1911 Triangle Factory Fire. Near Closing Time On March 25, 1911, a fire broke out at the Triangle Waist Factory in New York City. Within 18 minutes, 146 people were dead as a result of the fire. (2018). Retrieved from: http://trianglefire.ilr.cornell.edu/ (Accessed April 1, 2020).
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Von Drehle David. Uncovering the History of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. Smithsonian Magazine. (Aug. 2006). Retrieved from: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/uncovering-the-history-of-the-triangle-shirtwaist-fire-124701842/
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Paul, H., Robinson, and Robinson, Sarah. “Tragedy, outrage & reform crimes that changed our world: 1911–Triangle Factory Fire–Building Safety Codes.” (2016): 16-50. Retrieved from: http://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2706&context=faculty_scholarship
[8] Ibid, 34.
[9] Mae, C. Quinn “Fallen Woman Further (Re) Framed: Jewels and Travels, Tragedies and Secrets, Judge Jean Hortense Norris.” U. Kan. L. Rev. 68 (2019): 227.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Kiger J. Patrick. How the Horrific Tragedy of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Led to Workplace Safety Laws: The 1911 factory blaze shocked the nation and spurred new regulations to protect factory workers. History. (2019). Retrieved from: https://www.history.com/news/triangle-shirtwaist-factory-fire-labor-safety-laws
[12] Von Drehle David. Uncovering the History of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. Smithsonian Magazine. (Aug. 2006).
[13] Lynn, Mercurio, Mia, and Randall Régine. “Tributes beyond Words: Art Educators’ Use of Textiles to Memorialize the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.” Journal for Learning through the Arts 12, no. 1 (2016): n1. Retrieved from: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1125183.pdf
[14] Mae, C. Quinn “Fallen Woman Further (Re) Framed: Jewels and Travels, Tragedies and Secrets, Judge Jean Hortense Norris.” U. Kan. L. Rev. 68 (2019): 227. Retrieved from: https://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/bitstream/handle/1808/29984/1%20-%20Quinn.pdf?sequence=1
