The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire - Essay Example

It seems like America has forgotten the lesson learned after the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire. On March 25, 1911 right before the final whistle called for the end of the day a fire started on the 8th floor of the 23 Washington Place (Schneider). The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory occupied the 8th, 9th, and 10th floors of the building. After the fire started the 8th floor called the 10th floor to give them warning, but no one notified the 9th floor (Stein and Greider 182). The women on the 10th floor either escaped through an elevator or up the stairwell to the roof.

The people on the 8th floor went down the stairwell or through the elevator. An elevator ran for a little while to the floors , but soon the cables melted (Drehle 153). Soon people were opening the elevator shaft and jumping to get away from the flames. Women were also jumping out the 9th floor windows as well. The 9th floor girls were trapped due to a locked stairwell that was supposed to prevent theft” (Greenwald 62). As the factory burned people gathered on the street watching the women jump.

Fire trucks did not have the water or the ladders to reach the 8th floor. The devastation of human life was enormous. Lives were lost due to an antitheft measure. After the fire workers cried for new safety measures. “The 146 lives lost in the fire ignited. . If women tried to strike they were considered bad. “They were either ‘good’ girls who listened docilely to fathers, employers, and policemen, or ‘bad’ women whose aggressive behavior made them akin to prostitutes” (Orleck 62).

Even if the women at Triangle would have protested the unsafe locked doors, it would have been up to management to open them. One of the owners probably would not have listened. Max Blanck was caught locking doors again in 1913; he was only fined $20 (Hoeing). There was a need for the creation of OSHA and unions. Although the Triangle fire was 100 years ago, many lessons can still be learned from the tragedy. However Americans are forgetting about this tragedy and other workplace accidents. Unions are being outlawed by our own congresses.

Instead of worrying about lives, the legislators are more interested in budget shortfalls. “Yet a century later, the laws that could have saved lives had they been in place on March 25, 1911, are being threatened by budget cuts proposed by a Republican-controlled Congress“ (Schneider). Unions have come to stand for pay raises and benefits. What about the safety issues? It seems like safety issues seem to be a moot discussion. The most famous anti-union legislation is against teachers in Wisconsin.

It might seem like a good idea to cut the budget, but what could the possible outcomes be? Teachers might decided to go to different states that still have unions. That could mean the best teachers would leave. If the best teachers leave, then what would the children of Wisconsin be learning? The consequences could reach for generations. Without the union what happens if principals decided to make the teachers work in unsafe conditions?