Triangle Fire is a documentary film which premiered on US television (PBS) in 2011.
It is an episode in the long-running program American Experience (season 23, episode 8).
Here is some basic information about it:
** Produced and directed by Jamila Wignot
** Written by Mark Zwonitzer
** Narrated by Michael Murphy
** Run time: 53 minutes
PART ONE
The timing is significant: Triangle Fire premiered in February 2011, to mark the upcoming 100-year anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, which occurred on 25 March 1911; the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of New York City and one of the deadliest in US history: 146 people lost their lives.
Several historians and writers are interviewed in the film. Here are the names of the participants (listed in alphabetical order):
** Jo Ann E. Argersinger
** Thomas Bender
** David von Drehle
** Steve Fraser
** Richard A. Greenwald
** Alfred Allan Lewis
** Robyn Muncy
** Annelise Orleck
The film is divided into four chapters:
Chapter # 1
The background
The garment industry in New York City
Chapter # 2
The strike
November 1909-February 1910
Chapter # 3
The fire
Saturday 25 March 1911
Chapter # 4
The aftermath
The trial and the legacy
PART TWO
Chapter # 1 is about the garment industry in New York City at the beginning of the 20th century. Most workers were women and most of them were very young.
They worked long hours for a low salary. Safety in the workplace was not something that company owners were very concerned about and unions were not allowed in most companies.
Chapter # 2 covers the strike that began in November 1909. The strikers demanded shorter hours, better pay, safety in the workplace and the right to join a union. The strikers were harassed by the police and by hooligans hired by the owners to intimidate them. In spite of these problems the strike went on and the owners began to suffer as well.
When the strike ended in February 1910, some owners gave in to all demands. At the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, the owners Isaac Harris and Max Blanck accepted the first two demands (shorter hours and better pay), but not the last two demands (safety in the workplace and the right to join a union).
Chapter # 3 is about the fire which broke out on Saturday 25 March 1911. It began in the afternoon, shortly before the end of the shift. Someone dropped a burning match or cigarette on the 8th floor where half of the workers were. Most of them managed to get out alive, before the fire spread.
The owners, who were on the 10th floor (the top floor of the building), were warned by telephone and managed to escape by going to the roof and jumping to the next building. But in the panic, nobody warned the 200 workers, who were on the 9th floor. When the fire reached their floor, it was already strong and violent. There was a lot of flammable material in the factory.
Because of the fire, the workers could not use the staircase. Some of them tried to use the exterior fire escape, but it was old and not very strong. When many people tried to escape this way, it simply collapsed and fell to the ground, killing those who were standing on it.
A door on the 9th floor led to another staircase, but it was locked, because the owners were afraid that the workers would use this exit to take an unauthorized break or perhaps to smuggle out stolen products.
There was no way out!
The fire brigade arrived quickly, and the firemen raised their ladders, but the ladders were not long enough. They could only reach up to the 6th floor, while the fire was on the 9th floor.
Some of the workers jumped out of a window. They died when they landed. The rest were burned alive. The total number of victims were 146. Almost all were women, almost half were teenagers.
Chapter # 4 is about the court case against the owners: Isaac Harris and Max Blanck.
The prosecutor claimed they were responsible for the death of the workers, because they had kept the door to the other staircase locked. The defence claimed the owners did not know the door was locked at the time. In the end they were acquitted of murder.
However, in a civil suit that followed later they were found guilty and sentenced to pay compensation to the families of the victims.
This chapter also covers the legacy of the fire. Rules and regulations were introduced. Safety in the workplace became an issue that owners could no longer ignore.
There was legislative reform and conditions improved considerably. But, as Jo Ann E. Argersinger says:
“Women had to burn first for this to happen.”
CONCLUSION
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire is an important chapter in the history of New York City and in the history of workers’ rights. The story deserves to be told, and in this film, it is done very well.
Since it is about a horrible episode, I cannot say you will enjoy the film, but I do think that you can appreciate it.
If you are interested in the question of human rights, if you care about health and safety in the workplace, then this film is definitely something for you.
It is highly recommended.
PS # 1. For more details, see the following books whose authors are interviewed in the film:
** The Triangle Fire by Jo Ann E. Argersinger (2009) (2016)
** Triangle: The Fire that Changed America by David Von Drehle (2003) (2004)
** The Triangle Fire, the Protocols of Peace and Industrial Democracy in Progressive Era New York by Richard A. Greenwald (2005)
** Common Sense and a Little Fire: Women and Working-Class Politics in the United States, 1900-1965 by Annelise Orleck (1995)
PS # 2. The following book was the first full-scale study of the case in modern times:
The Triangle Fire by Leon Stein
It was published in 1962 and reprinted in 2010, to mark the upcoming 100-year anniversary of the fire.
PS # 3. Remembering the Triangle Factory Fire is a website established and maintained by Cornell University where you can find additional information: photos and eyewitness accounts.
PS # 4. The website of American Experience has a special page devoted to this case where you can find more information, such as biographies of the people who were involved in the case.
PS # 5. Film and Video
Triangle: Remembering the Fire
(HBO) (2011) (40 minutes)
The Fire of a Movement
(PBS) (2019) (27 minutes)
*****
Female workers in the garment industry
New York, 1911
*****
Victims of the disaster
New York, March 1911
*****
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
1911 - 2011
The Zinn Education Project
*****
No comments:
Post a Comment