Triangle Shirtwaist Fire: Loss of Lives, Rights, and Hope - Research Paper

Introduction

The Triangle Shirtwaist fire is an important event in United States history. This incidence happened because many safety codes were violated and employees were denied their rights and proper working conditions. The fire killed many people most of them being Jewish women who worked in a sweatshop. The workers worked in poor condition since they had no say although they tried to fight for their rights. This incident helped many people to accomplish task unions and strikes that had been tried earlier. It improved the working conditions of the workers especially in factories bringing the birth of new rules and regulations which catered for workers' safety. Many safeties measured has been changed to make sure that nothing as catastrophic as the triangle shirtwaist would ever happen again. Although this tragedy may have provided many benefits to the Americans, it also came with many negative results.

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Those who lived in the early 1900's know life was not easy. There was stiff competition for jobs especially for the people who had settled in New York City. During that era women and children were among the people who were competing to get jobs. many companies preferred to hire male workers although there were many women working during this time. This made it hard for women and children to get a job vacancy. This made women and African American to get limited job options which were extremely hard to get. This issue also affected many immigrants from different places who were in need of a fast and easy job. Many large firms were taking advantage of the situation for a large number of immigrant were crowding New York City. They were hiring them in sweatshops with no veneration and poor working conditions where they worked with dangerous machinery (McEvoy 640). This caused overcrowding and horrible conditions in many factories including the garment factories. The triangle shirtwaist was a disaster which occurred in March 1911 in a factory based in New York City killing 146 workers. The factory produced women's blouses which were known as shirtwaists. It hired round 500-600 workers most of them being immigrants' women.

In the 1900s, many people considered death as a routine of workplace hazard. Many career fields had its own dangerous consequences but the workers did not care much since they were providing for their families. Many people were eager to get a job which made many companies neglect the safety measures of their employees. Those who worked in mines had many cases where the mines had collapsed under them. Those who worked in factories would have incidences where the machinery grabbed them by the arm or leg leaving them disabled. Some of the garment factories had also caught fire and killed many people even before the shirtwaist incidence. After all the events nothing was done to prevent these tragedies this made many workers live in fear that something worse would happen in New York workplaces.

Several things caused the outbreak of triangle shirtwaist fire. The triangle factory occupied from 8th to 10th floors on the northwest corner of Greene Street. Although many factories like triangle are prone to dangers of fire, Triangle Company had a high level of corruption and there were no useful preventive measures were taken. The factory had no proper worker's rights and the place had not followed the fire installation preventive measures. It had little fire control equipment or any safety standard which made the fire sparks to spread rapidly (Lanier Pence 420). The factory had no sprinkler system and its door locked from inside to keep the worker inside. They had locked the doors to prevent the garment workers from stealing which cause the workers to be trapped inside with no exit during the fir incidence. When the fire broke many workers tried to escape by jumping but they ended up facing their death to the flame. One of the things that put the triangle workers in jeopardy is that the factory had four elevators which had access to the factory ground floor. But when the factory caught fire only one of the elevators was working and it might only hold twelve individuals at a moment reducing the number of people to be rescued. The operative was unable to make back and forth trips and it broke down in flames. The stairways which would have been an alternative for the people to escape from the fire were also locked from outside to prevent theft. During the fire, the girl who tried to flee through the stairs found the door locked at the bottom where she was burnt alive.

The triangle shirtwaist fire consumed all the furl that was laid in its path. All the piled unused cotton and fabric scraps were used as fuel by the accelerating fire making it impossible to extinguish it. Most of the employees were unfamiliar with the factory layout and they had a little idea of the possible exits to use during the fire outbreak. The building may have been fireproof but the contents keep inside the factory made it easier for the fire to spread rapidly (Lanier Pence 412). The factory workers had no training o fire drills which would have been helpful in the hour of despair. When the fire began, the manager tried to use fire extinguisher unsuccessfully. The hosepipe was rotten and the valve had rust making it hard for the extinguisher to serve its purpose. The triangle factory had no pre-fire planning which was the main cause of the workers' death. When the firefighters arrived, it was too late for many workers. They found a horrifying scene of the burnt bodies and other staff had jumped on the hosepipe making it hard to fight the fire. Forty-nine of the workers burned to death while others were suffocated by smoke and 58 died from jumping from stair walks. Although there was enough evidence that the owners had neglected the place causing fire, the jury was unable to charge them for manslaughter.

Triangle factory violated many workers' rights causing the fire outbreak. The owners of the factory Isaac Harris and Max Blanck intentionally restricted the workers in the name of maintaining security in the factory. They closed many exist making them not accessible to the workers so that the worker does not take unnecessary breaks or leave work early. This made it hard for the staff to sneak out of the factory's compound even during the fire outbreak. The owners of the Triangle factory inspected every worker before leaving the premises to make sure that nothing was stolen. The workers had no freedom and they would work like animals with the doors closed. As a result, when the famous fire erupted, they had nowhere to flee to living them trapped inside perishing in the blazing fire.Blanck and Isaac Harris refused to install the sprinkler system in the factory which contributed to the tragedy. These two owners were also known to be notorious anti-worker policies who violated the staff's right without any fear. They paid their employees $15 per week while they overworked them for twelve hours per day. When the employees headed a strike in 1909, requesting better pay, the company owners paid off representatives to look the other way ignoring the worker rights for predictable hours (McEvoy 630). They also hired police to imprison the women who were leading the strike. According to labor laws in the nineteenth centuries, most of the women rights were violated. Women were overworked and underpaid. They also were at great risk of injury from poorly maintained machines on a daily basis. Women were sexually harassed or even physically abused by the male workers and they were not allowed to complain. They lived in fear of being dismissed or fired by their superior whenever they turned down their requests. When the triangle factory was evaluated by fire and labor unions, all the violated conditions were the main cause of the fire in the shirtwaist. There were other sweetshop owners who were money hungry and had no mercy or personality towards their workers.

Business owners like Isaac and Blanck did not believe that women had the same rights as men. They mistreated women and showed unfairness in the workplace and in the whole country. Women felt that their rights were being violated and wanted their voice to be heard. The employers like in the triangle factory did not care about the women's age. They overworked young women who were at the age of 15 years who had immigrated to the United States. They were given the same responsibilities as an adult but they had no say since they were poor looking for a better life. The owners hired the staff that they would oppress and subject to horrifying working conditions. Out of 600 workers who were present during the fire outbreak, 500 were girls most of them being underage. These girls were minor and hence they did not understand their rights which gave the employees a good opportunity to violate them.

After the Triangle fire, the department of labor identified workers struggles and came up with a new bill which granted workers to work for shorter hours. They also created a factory investigating commission which helps in investigation factories conditions in many cities and reports remedial measures to this commission. This commission helped to prevent hazard conditions in the workplace and situations that could lead to the loss of the employee's life. They improved the unsanitary condition in the companies and ensured fire preventive measures are taken. The commission hired field agent to inspect factories and make sure all safety measures are practiced (Lanier Pence 411). This led to the birth of other laws regulating labor in New York. These labors mandated better buildings and availability of fire extinguishers in working places. It also made sure the businesses have installed a sprinkler system and alarm system to minimize fire incidences. They built better facilities for the workers which were disease free.

The triangle shirtwaist fire led the way to better working environments. Many safety codes were changed and many people are now knowledgeable about fire prevention. After the Triangle fire, the workplace struggles became a public domain where if any employees feel oppressed by the employer is free to report. Work industry became fair where different measures like fire prevention were taken. The employees were represented by labor unions who cater for their welfare like working hours and their wages. Many employers in America start listening to their staff because they were afraid of being reported to labor unions. The fire led to dramatic workers' protections and women rights were respected. The women are no longer assaulted or sexually abused by their bosses since they have the right to sue and severe action is taken to the abusers. Many Americans argue that the Triangle fire was the genesis of the laws that safeguard workers.

From the Triangle fire, many codes have been changed as a part of the solution. The training institutions have developed strict codes that are to be enforced by every business owner. It has been made as a rule to build a building that is 100 percent fire resistant and mount fire extinguisher in every floor. The exit signs are installed in every building to be an escape in case there is a fire incident. The door labeled exit should swing outwards on every exterior wall. The organization has taken its time to offer training to their staff on what to do during a fire outbreak. The occupants of these buildings have also been trained on how to maintain the fire resistant systems and how to use them correctly. It has been made as a routine for the fire department to make a regular inspection on businesses to make sure that protective measures have been taken.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the triangle shirtwaist factory describes one of the worst manufacturing tragedies in history. Its owners took advantage of young women who had immigrated from neighboring countries and put the...