We are Remembering the Women, Girls and Men Who Died Helping to Make America, as a result of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in Manhattan, New York City (<click on that Manhattan link to an interactive map to see their names and where they lived) on March 25, 1911.
Lest we forget, it was the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the city, and one of the deadliest in U.S. history. The fire caused the deaths of 146 garment workers – 123 women and 23 men. The 104th anniversary of the Triangle shirtwaist factory fire, marks more than a century of worker safety reforms.
More Information from Triangle Fire
- “Triangle’s Echoes: The Unfinished Struggle for Worker Protection, Safety and Health”
- (Video featuring Assistant Secretary Dr. David Michaels and Solicitor of Labor M. Patricia Smith)
- “What the Triangle Shirtwaist fire means for workers now”(Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis editorial in
The Washington Post, March 21, 2011) - Senate designates week of March 21-25, 2011 as “100th Anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Remembrance Week”
- “Triangle: Remembering the Fire” (HBO documentary aired March 21, 2011)
- “Remembering the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire” (60 Minutes video aired March 20, 2011)
Learn More
These resources provide detailed information on the events of March 25, 1911, working conditions at the beginning of the 20th century, and the impacts of the tragedy on workplace safety and health:
New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health booklet “Don’t Mourn – Organize” (See page 7: Dr. David Michaels “We must. We will.”)
“Triangle Fire” Documentary from American Experience on PBS.
The Kheel Center at Cornell University, School of Industrial and Labor Relations – This site houses an extensive archive of information on the fire. Primary documents include newspaper accounts, interviews with survivors, and a partial transcript of the trial of the factory’s owners.
American Society of Safety Engineers – ASSE, America’s oldest professional safety organization, was founded six months after the Triangle fire. Its “Century of Safety” site provides information on the fire and the events leading to the establishment of the society.
Triangle Fire Open Archive at the Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition. An online collection of documents, photographs, and artworks submitted by the public that serves as “a living repository for stories, images and objects about the Triangle fire’s history, context, and impact on labor, immigrant, and women’s rights and everyday life today.”
Filed under: Commentary, Passion, Story suggestions Tagged: American Made, Garment Workers, Labor Safety, Made In America, Rita Rich, Shirtwaist, Triangle, Triangle Fire, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, US Employment, Worker Safety
