Memorializing a Victims of Tragedy That Galvanized Workers, 113 Years Later

In 1911 workers in New York City, like many throughout the country, were being worked to the bone in factories and other physical labor industries, with little to no rights or protections. When a fire broke out at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, the punishing working conditions led to the deaths of 146 workers - most of them Italian and Jewish immigrants, most of them women, and some as young as 14-years-old. There were no fire exits or emergency plans in place - in fact, the doors to the factory floor were kept locked by the employer to prevent workers from taking unauthorized breaks and dissuade theft; on the day of the fire, this meant that over one hundred people were trapped inside the burning building with no route to escape. 

After the fire, workers rose up to demand better workplace safety, helping pass legislation throughout the country to improve factory working conditions, and many joined the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), which fought for better working conditions for sweatshop workers.

More than a century later, a public memorial in New York City dedicated to the victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire has opened. CWA Local 1180 members attended the dedication ceremony on October 11th on the corner of Greene Street and Washington Place in Greenwich Village, where the original factory building still stands. It is one of the few memorials in the United States dedicated to workers.

Read more about the memorial dedication here.