Triangle Shirtwaste Factory and Fire Standards

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Reason for Fire Safety Standards On March 25th of the year 1911, a tragedy arouse in the city of Manhattan. It was the death of 146 workers at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. The public’s reaction to the fire at the Triangle Waste Company factory was that they were disgusted at how the women and children were being treated in the first place. The reason the general public felt this way was because they felt the lack of concern by the owners for the factories workers was beyond ridiculous. One can only imagine how it must have felt when friends and family members had to come verify their loved ones when they were laid out with their bodies mutilated by the flames of the factory fire at the local pier. So many casualties would have been averted some standard were in place for the safety of the employees. The few workers that did survive wanted justice for the lack of concern from the company. The sad thing is, they didn’t even get that because the owners, Isaac Harris and Max Blanck, didn’t get punished or have to pay any fines for the lack of safety. They just took their insurance claim money and scattered. The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of 1911 would change the regulation by government of business. Before the fire, the government had mostly stayed away from business because they felt they had no power to enforce it. After the fire, the government started to make and implement laws to protect the workers. Once the New York legislature enacted safety laws, other states in the US followed. Workers also began to look toward unions to voice their concerns over safety and pay. The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union also won support and led a march of 100,000 to tell the New York legislature to move into action. Today there are many laws that govern the condition of workplaces. Among those regulations are implemented to let people out during a fire. Multiple

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