On Saturday, March 25, 1911, a fire broke out on the top floors of the Triangle Shirtwaist factory. Trapped inside because the owners had locked the fire escape exit doors, workers jumped to their deaths. In a half an hour, the fire was over, and 146 of the 500 workers—mostly young women—were dead.
What was the result of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire?
Could a strong union have prevented the Triangle fire?
Public unions could have put policemen and firemen out of the Tammany machine’s reach. Private unions could have protected the women working at the Triangle factory. Without unions, those rights might never have been won.
