The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
It is unbelievable as a worker in today’s society to read about laborers working 14-20 hours, not allowed to speak the whole time, but it was a reality for workers at the turn of the 20th century. As our nation entered into the 20th century, there was a major push by the Progressives for changes in the workplace that had been going on for nearly a decade, but with no success. While the Progressive movement had sparked changes in public health, the workplace had not changed for the better. Workers in most jobs had to work long hours, at low pay, with no safety regulations. A perfect example was at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, where workers were required to work 14-20 hours a day, locked into their workspace
…show more content…
Workers were paid $2 a day at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory, and that was before their bosses docked their pay for the needles, thread, and electricity they used each day. The highrise factory had locked exit doors, and practically no safety precautions in case of danger.Conditions were truly brutal, but workers had no other choice, they needed the money and their bosses could replace them at the snap of a finger. Angry garment workers, such as Clara Lemlich, were able to get workers to band together in “The Uprising of 20,000”, the largest strike of women in American history. The strikers protested low wages, dangerous working conditions, and management’s refusal to recognize unions; the mass strike failed to bring any meaningful change to the garment-making industry. It should also be noted that at many other factories, conditions may have been even worse than at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, so there was not really a better option available for these workers. The government at the time had a history of not intervening in big business, better known as a laissez-faire approach. There were no regulations on how many hours owners could make their employees work, as well as no minimum wage, so owners exploited their workers and unless the