The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, New York, 1911

The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire was one such tragedy. The tendency of powerful organizations in society (such as business and government) is to continue to operate as they have in the past, and to move slowly, if at all, in response to changes in society (such as the increasing exploitation of workers, especially female factory workers at the turn of the century). There were individuals in society, in labor, even in business and government, who saw that changes were needed to protect workers, to treat them decently and provide safe and humane working conditions. However, the great machines of corporate and political power will not move to change until it is in their interest to change or until they can no longer resist it. That is why such catastrophes as the Triangle fire are too often necessary to awaken the institutions of society to the need for change.

The fire itself was an event of horror and massive death. The Triangle Company was New York City's largest manufacturer of shirtwaists, or collared blo

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lar: large families crowded into dirty and dangerous tenements" (Yates 120). When a few women joined the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU) and that fact became known to their employers, they were fired. When those fired workers picketed, they were beaten by men hired for that purpose by the company, both to punish them and to frighten others from taking the same steps to secure their rights and safety. After they were beaten, they were arrested by the police who supported the wealthy (male) owners over the powerless (female) workers. Eventually, the Women's Trade Union League, more established than the ILGWU, became involved and joined forces to strengthen both unions (Yates 120). Stephen Jay Gould explores the Triangle fire in terms of applying Darwinian theory to human history. Gould writes that the significance of the fire remains powerful almost a century later: "Each year on the March 25 anniversary of the fire, the International Ladies Garment Workers Union still holds a ceremony at the site and lays wreaths to memorialize the 146 workers killed in the blaze" (Gould 18). Gould's interest is in part based on the fact that he "grew up in a family of Jewish immigrant garment workers, and this holocaust (in
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Approximate Word count = 1925
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

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