Posted on 03/24/2011 3:31:50 PM PDT by Nachum
Presidential Proclamation--100th Anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
On March 25, 1911, a fire spread through the cramped floors of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in lower Manhattan. Flames spread quickly through the 8th, 9th, and 10th floors -- overcrowded, littered with cloth scraps, and containing few buckets of water to douse the flames -- giving the factory workers there little time to escape. When the panicked workers tried to flee, they encountered locked doors and broken fire escapes, and were trapped by long tables and bulky machines. As bystanders watched in horror, young workers began jumping out of the windows to escape the inferno, falling helplessly to their deaths on the street below.
By the time the fire was extinguished, nearly 150 individuals had perished in an avoidable tragedy. The exploited workers killed that day were mostly young women, recent immigrants of Jewish and Italian descent. The catastrophe sent shockwaves through New York City and the immigrant communities of Manhattan's Lower East Side, where families struggled to recognize the charred remains of their loved ones in makeshift morgues. The last victims were officially identified just this year.
A century later, we reflect not only on the tragic loss of these young lives, but also on the movement they inspired. The Triangle factory fire was a galvanizing moment, calling American leaders to reexamine their approach to workplace conditions and the purpose of unions. The fire awakened the conscience of our Nation, inspiring sweeping improvements to safety regulations both in New York and across the United States. The tragedy strengthened the potency of organized labor, which gave voice to previously powerless workers. A witness to the fire,
(Excerpt) Read more at whitehouse.gov ...
clever - but a real Obama scorecard would include about 35 more strokes.
(over)
A great tragedy, not akin to the attack on Pearl Harbor, but a tragedy nonetheless. That’s why teachers in Oskosh need 90 days of paid sick leave per school year (180 days). Just look for the union label.
Triangle Shirtwaist is one of Labor’s stations of the cross.
Yes, this originated with a story by EMac on Fox, right ? The “powers that be” in the “big business” community need to start realizing that unionism is obsolete.
This shirtwaist story was a horrible incident of a bygone era that is analagous to talking about the dangers of flying in 1910.
There still are idiotic business owners who are penny wise and pound foolish, but today workers have much more ability to find a new job, and the effort should be on simply telling people that: if your job is so terrible, find something else and quit.
Yup! This is the THREAD WINNER!
All I could think was Where's Obamah?
The Triangle Shirtwaste fire is a mandatory case study for anyone in fire prevention or occupational safety...as well as the MGM Grand and Coconut Grove fires.
Thanks!
Said the moron.
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