Triangle Shirt Waste Factory

1 Pages 325 Words

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

In 1911 a fire that broke out in The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory that ended in the death of 146 young employees. Many of these employees were young Jewish women that were engaged to be married. This tragic event was due to the company’s poor working conditions forcing many people in small workplaces with few exits. However in this fire there was more problems than just a few number of exits the employers that day decided to lock the doors in fear that the young women would steal company materials and leave during working hours because of this the a large number of workers perished in the fire. The owners, Isaac Harris and Max Blanck, were tried for manslaughter but were acquitted in 1914. This fire caught the attention of politicians and organizations that saw the need to regulate safety in the workplace. From this horrid tragedy formed American Labor Unions and labor laws that changed the health and safety conditions in the workplace. The New York legislature created a commission called The Factory Commission of 1911, lead to the creation of the Fire Prevention division as part of the Fire Department. In turn the fire department made restrictions to prevent fires from happening and to prevent the blockage of escape routes. Other restrictions were made such as: requiring that all doors remain unlocked during working hours, door must open inward, sprinkler systems must be installed, and employees must be education on fire extinguisher safety. Many other implications were made in which, the United States Department of Labor classified this set of standards as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards. After New York legislature enacted safety laws state across the nation began to follow suit. Workers began to organize and form unions so they could voice there opinions of health concerns, safety, and other needs. Over all this fire inevitably lead to the aid of the worke...