A haunting scene took place at one of the windows and was reported by a newsman who was a witness. He told of watching a young man help a girl through the window. The young man held her away from the building and then let her drop. He repeated this with two other young women without any resistance from the girls. The reporter likened his actions to a gentleman helping a girl onto a streetcar. The last girl the reporter witnessed being added, put her arms around the young man and kissed him. He repeated the action of dropping the willing girl to her death. Then he, too, dropped to his. His actions saved them from a terrible death by fire. In a sad and peculiar way, the young man’s actions were chivalrous.
Windows that were sealed shut by rust daunted the workers who attempted escape by way of the fire escape. However, they eventually were able to release the window openings from the metallic freeze. The misfortune of this group was that the fire escape ended on the second floor and into an airshaft that ran between the Asch Building and its neighbor. With more and more of the terrified workers climbing out onto the fire escape, but not able to make it pass those already trapped at the end of the fire escape, the combined weight caused the whole thing to collapse, hurling many more to their deaths.
Two fortunate survivors were the owners, Max Blanck and Isaac Harris. They had escaped to the roof, along with a lucky few. The two men were initially charged with first and second-degree manslaughter, but were acquitted of the charges. They collected a sizeable insurance settle as a result of the fire. Ms. Mitelman’s essay refers to Leon Stein’s book’s, The Triangle Fire, and how it depicts the situation with Blanck and Harris and the dead young Jewish girls as “the subtle psychological and sociological implications of the powerful against the oppressed, and of the Westernized, German-Jewish immigrants against those still living their old-world Eastern European heritage.”
Once the fire was out and the building could be entered, scorched skeletons were found still at sewing machines. Bodies were burned to bare bones and many bodies were unidentifiable. Loved ones searched through the bodies for days trying to find a way to identify there mother, daughters, wives, or sisters. Some victims could be identified by the name on the pay envelopes found stuffed into pockets and stockings.
The Women’s Trade Union League met the day after the fire and were joined by 20 other organized groups. They took action forming relief committees to aid family victims through the Red Cross. They agreed to broaden their investigation of fire hazards. They called on their fellow workers to act as inspectors and report safety violations to the proper authorities and to the League. A mandate for the city was drawn up for compulsory fire drills, fireproof exits, unlocked doors, fire alarms, automatic sprinkler systems, and regular inspections. They were able to get the legislature to form the Bureaus of Fire Protection.
The city of New York held a funeral for the dead that remained unclaimed. The Women’s Trade Union League had voted to participate in the public funeral procession and 12,000 members marched from ten in the morning until four in the afternoon.
Among those 12,000 union members was Rose Schneiderman. She had been involved with the Women’s Trade Union League, the winter strike of 1910, and she herself was an immigrant worker. Like so many others, she was filled with regret and anguish for the tragic loss of life. She realized how the deaths could have been avoided had the public and private sectors recognized the message the 20,000 striking workers had spoke of the previous winter. The fiery deaths raised her own awareness of her responsibility to fight for industrial reform and triggered a realization in Ms. Schneiderman that nothing and no one would help the working women but a strong union. This was the vital strength and bond that had failed to materialize after the previous strike. Six weeks after the fire, on May 2, 1911, Ms. Schneider used her persuasive way with words to gain support from wealthy New Yorkers, and to change the opinion of the public to the side of the labor movement. With these changes, civic, religious, and labor leaders were now able to move forward and organize groups in support of the needed safety reforms within the garment industry. Her audience and supporters included the governor of New York, prestigious clergy from the Jewish and Christian persuasions, and family members from the wealthiest of our country’s families.
Her speech could have been about fellowship because there she was at a collaborative mass-meeting being held at the Metropolitan Opera House, but she was true to all the dead of the Triangle Waist Company. She pointed out that this was not the first time these girls had cried out for help, but had been ignored by public. She asked if their charity would stop at the dollar being donated for the dead and would the public allow their officials to continue to oppress those working for reform. She used the sadness of the event and the picture of persecution it illustrated to change history. The result was widespread support for unions and formation of regulatory bodies such as the New York State Factory Investigating Commission and the New York Citizen’s Committee on Safety. Her call for action brought about change that took years, but had a lasting affect that reached all across our nation then and for decades to come.
Ms. Mitelman eloquently brings forth in her essay how the tragic fiery deaths of those unfortunate workers cemented the fellowship of the Eastern European community, encouraged cooperation among unions, brought about awareness and support from a blind populace, safety in the work place and support for union recognition.