Ashes Of Roses

One of the worst industrial disasters in United States history occurred in New York on March 25, 1911, when the top three floors of the Asch Building, which held the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, went up in flames. At the time, there were over 500 workers at the factory, most of whom were young immigrant women and girls. It is believed that the fire started on the eighth floor when a bin of fabric scraps was ignited by either a discarded match or a cigarette. However, the owners’ and management’s neglect of worker safety is widely regarded as the reason the fire claimed 146 lives, 123 of which were women and girls. The youngest victim was only 14 years old.

Max Blanck and Isaac Harris were the owners of Triangle. They paid workers 12 to 15 dollars per week for completing shifts that were 11 to 12 hours long, and employees were expected to work every day of the week. Many of the exit doors were locked to prevent workers from taking unauthorized breaks and to allow guards to check the workers’ purses for evidence of theft. Of the four elevators in the building, only one was in working order. There were only two stairways to the streets, but instead of requiring the owners to add a third interior stairway, inspectors allowed Blanck and Harris to install a flimsy fire escape that didn’t reach the street at all. Although the factory had a fire hose, it was not maintained, and it malfunctioned at the time of the fire. There were no sprinklers in the building. It is believed that this supposed oversight may have been intentional on the part of Blanck and Harris, because they had a history of starting fires in their other garment factories to collect insurance payments for merchandise that proved impossible to sell. (“Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.” Wikipedia, 26 Jan. 2024).

On the day of the fire, many of the workers on the eighth floor were able to get to safety. They called management on the 10th floor to notify them of the fire, and many people on that floor, including the owners, escaped via a ladder that was slid over by NYU students in the neighboring building. However, there was no alarm system or any way to notify the workers on the ninth floor. As a result, 20 people died when they tried to escape via the fire escape, which collapsed. Another 62 people either jumped or fell to their deaths. Two of the elevator operators made four trips up and down to bring 150 people to safety, but the fire soon rendered the elevator inoperable. Six victims of the fire could not be identified until a century later. (Berger, Joseph. “100 Years Later, the Roll of the Dead in a Factory Fire Is Complete.” The New York Times, 20 Feb. 2011).

Although Blanck and Harris were indicted for manslaughter, they were later acquitted. In a civil lawsuit a few years later, the judge ordered Blanck and Harris to pay compensation to the families of the victims, but the insurance company paid the men several times more than that amount in compensation for the fire. (“Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.” History, 2 Dec. 2009). The two continued running factories with subpar working conditions.

About two weeks after the fire, tens of thousands of people (estimates range wildly from 80,000 to 350,000) marched in a funeral protest organized by labor unions. This was a sign that the tragic fire would spur important actions in labor unions and public policy regarding workers. The Women’s Trade Union League had organized a strike in 1909, which included many workers from Triangle. The strike, known as the “Uprising of 20,000,” was the largest strike of female workers in United States history, and Gussie mentions this fact in Ashes of Roses. After the Triangle fire, garment worker unions joined the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union (ILGWU), an organization that became a powerful political entity. The ILGWU demanded safer working conditions and limits to the weekly working hours for women and children. Frances Perkins, who witnessed the fire and later became the first female cabinet member as President Franklin Roosevelt’s Secretary of Labor, had been a member of the New York Consumers League, lobbying for workers’ rights. After the fire, she joined the Committee on Safety in the City of New York. (“Frances Perkins.” National Park Service, 22 Mar. 2021). The committee helped pass laws in the city and state of New York regarding better exits in buildings; fire safety measures, such as automatic sprinklers, fireproofing, alarm systems, and fire extinguishers; and better bathroom and lunchroom spaces for workers.