Today is the 95th Anniversary of the Triangle Waist Company Factory Fire

Read about it here, at a site maintained by the Catherwood Library, where I spent a good portion of my undergraduate years studying, doing my reserve reading, talking to my friends (and getting shushed for it, and deservedly so) and working 10-15 hours per week for minimum wage, all while I was enrolled at Cornell University.

The Asch Building on the corner of Greene Street and Washington Place was a new”fire-proof”building but the blaze on March 25th was not their first. It was also not the only unsafe building where young immigrants worked 6 or 7 days each week.

“Even today, sweatshops have not disappeared in the United States. They keep attracting workers in desperate need of employment and illegal immigrants, who may be anxious to avoid involvement with governmental agencies. Recent studies conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor found that 67% of Los Angeles garment factories and 63% of New York garment factories violate minimum wage and overtime laws. Ninety-eight percent of Los Angeles garment factories have workplace health and safety problems serious enough to lead to severe injuries or death.”

Thanks to Pen-Elayne for the reminder.
–Ann Bartow