Performance Task Collection 6 Essay A terrible tragedy occurred on March 25, 1911. There was a devastating fire at the Asch Building. It took 146 lives of the 500 workers that reported for work that day. In fact, it was such a devastating disaster that up to that time, it was considered the worst workplace disaster. Who’s fault was it? Why did the fire occur? Many ask these questions, but none can be sure. Some speculate that it was the horrible working conditions that started the fire. The factory was filthy, crowded, workers worked long hours in dirty firetraps and crippling machinery. Commission investigators discovered this first hand when they were ordered to crawl
On July 13, 1900 Joseph Aschs’ new building plans in New York City are approved and by January 5, 1901 the building is complete. In 1906, the eighth floor of the Asch building is bought by the Triangle Shirtwaist Company who opens a factory there. Three years later, a letter is sent to the management of the Triangle Shirtwaist building from a fire prevention expert. He suggests they that a discussion about evaluating and enhancing safety measures. Unfortunately, management does not take the letter seriously and “the letter is ignored.” (Linder, “Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Trial”) The inhumane work conditions in the factory led to the decision of twenty-five ILGWU workers to declare strike against th...
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire most of all impacted all forms of industry, and changed the way workers worked. Along with the legislations that impacted women and children, laws also centered on the safety and well being of all workers. One of the main reforms and changes came through the formation of the New York Factory Investigating Commission, or the FIC: a legislative body that investigated the manufacturers for various infractions. They were based on protecting the workers: both their rights and their lives. The FIC investigated countless factories and “enacted eight laws covering fire safety, factory inspections and sanitation.” The FIC was highly focused on the health and safety of industrial workers, making reports and legislation that focused on “fire safety, building construction, machine guarding, heating, lighting, ventilation, and other topics” and on specific industries like “chemicals, lead trades, metal trades, printing shops, sweatshops and mercantile establishments.” Thirteen out of seventeen of the bills submitted by the FIC became laws, and “included measures requiring better fire safety efforts, more adequate factory ventilation, improved sanitation and machine guarding, safe operation of elevators” and other legislations focused for specific establishments.” Fire safety and new fire codes such as “mandate emergency exits, sprinkler systems, and maximum-occupancy laws,” such as the Fire Prevention Act of 1911, were put into place to limit the likelihood that another fire like the one at Triangle would occur, or be as drastic and deathly. Other organizations like the Joint Board of Sanitary Control “set and maintain standards of sanitation in the workplace,” as well as actually enforcing these stand...
On the fateful and unforgettable afternoon of June 17, 1972 Hotel Vendome experienced yet another fire. Actually it experienced several fires in different locations on this date. Electricians working on the first floor reported smoke coming from the upper floors, and a bartender reported smoke in the basement. All occupants in the basement café were safely escorted out, and 3 engine companies, 2 ladder companies, and 1 District Chief arrived on scene noticing ...
Life in the early 1900’s wasn’t easy. Competition for jobs was at an all time high, especially in New York City. Immigrants were flooding in and needed to find work fast, even if that meant in the hot, overcrowded conditions of garment factories. Conditions were horrid and disaster was inevitable, and disaster did strike in March, 1911. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York set on fire, killing 146 workers. This is an important event in US history because it helped accomplish the tasks unions and strikes had tried to accomplish years earlier, It improved working conditions in factories nationwide and set new safety laws and regulations so that nothing as catastrophic would happen again. The workplace struggles became public after this fire, and the work industry would never remain the same again.
The need for an investigation was starting to be recognized. The hazards to life because of fire are: covering fire prevention, arrangement of machinery, fire drills, inadequate fire-escapes and exits, number of persons employed in factories and lofts, etc. Some of the dangers to life and health because of unsanitary conditions are: ventilation, lighting and heating arrangement, hours of labor, etc. There was no insulation in the winter, only a pot-bellied stove in the middle of the factory. In the summer you suffocated with practicall...
A fire that was said to be caused from an unextinguished match or cigarette, set ablaze this highly flammable work environment. This tragedy brought attention to the unregulated/unsafe working conditions that the women who had lost their lives were experiencing. In response, the Ladies Waist-makers Union formed one of the world’s largest female strikes. This is an example of a successful strike that was effective in achieving higher wages and improved working conditions. This strike marked the significance of women workers organizing and achieving bargaining
Labor activist got most of the factory owners to concede to their demands on paper, however, very shortly after the strike ended many factory owners returned to using their old practices of poorly treating workers. This is evident by the terrible conditions in the Triangle factory the day of the fire . Doors were locked and firehouses were not functional which lead to a much greater loss of life them if the owners of the factory had agreed to follow the reforms that the strikers had advocated for preceding the tragedy. Conditions in the factory were very similar to those shown in the silent film The Crime of Carelessness. Constant obstacle always faced the strikers including, employers opposing unions and hiring prostitutes to stand near prostitutes and undermine their appearance, Tammany hall accepting bribes from owners to unfairly prosecute strikers, the abundance of scrubs willing to work in place of strikers, and strikebreakers hired to beat up strikers. Considering the circumstances the labor activist were pretty relatively successful in in pushing forward their bolder agendas and even though they did not necessarily achieve everything they wanted, they set the stage and brought the attention to the plight of workers, which irrevocably sparked in improvement in workers rights and conditions. In other words the
The fire opened people’s eyes to a system that was in dire need of reform, Drehle even stating that, “it was the crucial moment in a potent chain of events…that ultimately forced fundamental reforms [in]…the whole nation” (Drehle, 2003, p.3). The tragedy lead to the strengthening of reform movements as more and more joined their cause, evidenced by, “By organizing themselves and asserting their strength, the workers were beginning to make progress…’[it] was more than a strike’; it was ‘an industrial revolution’” (Drehle, 2003, p.172). The fire urged people to fight for reform, and reforms were passed, Drehle stating that, “The work of 1912 produced a series of new laws in the 1913 legislature that was unmatched…in American history…twenty-five bills, entirely recasting the labor law” (Drehle, 2003, p.215). The reformers’ efforts proved fruitful as these great changes were accomplished, and they would forever change the nation for the better. Drehle proves to the reader that the fire was a turning point in American history thorough his explanation of the fire’s impacts on
The Triangle Fire made a lasting impact on the future of America. March 25th, 1911, a day that changed everything. Fire engulfed the three stories of the Triangle Waist Company. Family members, firemen, and friends could only watch by the sidelines as 146 girls and boys perished. The vision of girls jumping from the windows to escape being burned alive, broke down even the most seasoned Fire Chief sending him down to the street with quivering lips. In 1910, 13 weeks on strike most companies accepted the unions’ demands but Triangle Waist Company denied the union, giving higher wages and shorter hours. If Triangle Waist Company had accepted the union, would the 146 girls and boys lived? The fire was a terrible tragedy that will never be forgotten but it changed the Industrial life. Following the Fire there was industrial reform, passing of legislation, and it led to women’s suffrage.
This thrilling event happened in New York on the late afternoon of March 25, 1911. The tendentious Max Blank and Isaac Harris owned the top three floors in the Triangle Shirtwaist Company in the Asch Building. Most of the workers were Italian and European Jewish woman immigrants. It was near closing time for the young workers until that calm afternoon quickly turned into a frightening moment for everyone. At this moment people’s lives were flipped upside down forever when the fire broke out on the eighth floor in the Asch Building. To this day, there is no set cause as to why the fire started. All they have is that people heard an explosion that came from the eighth floor followed by bundles of clothes falling from the sky. The people soon noticed that not only were there bundle of clothes falling but those ‘bundles of clothes’ were actually some of the young workers jumping and falling from the window seals. The outburst of the fire was horrible, woman were falling through the ceiling while other taking their lives by jumping out the windows. Female workers found themselves in trouble when they tried to open the ninth floor doors to the Washington Place stairs but the doors appeared to be locked. On the other ...
It is the worker’s condition that he truly focuses on. Many of the problems that people faced during this time include: tenement housing, poor working conditions, child labor, monopolies of business, social and political inequality, and most importantly people putting profits over lives. It is around the same time that a terrible fire broke out at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. The unsafe working conditions made the employees escape nearly impossible.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire is a turning point in history because, unions gained powerful alliances and people who wanted to fight for their safety. Which now in the U.S there is a set of guidelines that need to be follow to ensure the safety of the employees. He writes: “The Triangle fire of March 25, 1911, was for ninety years the deadliest workplace disaster in New York history—and the most important (Von Drehle 3).” Von Drehle emphasizes how important this event is in history and he draw comparisons to the to
The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 was one of the largest disasters in American history. Practically overnight the great city of Chicago was destroyed. Before the fire there was a large drought causing everything to be dry and flammable, then a fire broke out in the O’Leary’s barn and spread throughout the city. Many attempts were made to put out the fire but there were too many errors and problems in the beginning. After the fire many people were left homeless and had to help build their city again (Murphy, 39)
The documentary strived to show us how factories were corrupt that they couldn’t provide good working conditions for the workers until we lost people. This documentary is about the tragic fire that took place on March 25, 1911 in the Triangle factory. We can clearly see through this documentary that these people didn’t matter to the factory owners because their needs were not met. The documentary shows that the year before the fire took place the workers led a strike asking for better working conditions, but obviously their voices were not heard. After the fire took place this is when factories started improving working conditions. It is sad to learn that it took 146 lives of innocent people in order for factory owners to be convinced that they need to improve the poor working
Throughout recorded history, fires have been known to cause great loss of life, property, and knowledge. The Great Fire of London was easily one of the worst fires mankind has ever seen causing large scale destruction and terror. Samuel Pepys described the fire as “A most malicious bloody flame, as one entire arch of fire of above a mile long… the churches, houses and all on fire and flaming at once, and a horrid noise the flames made.” (Britain Express 1).