Hearing about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire is very heartbreaking. The people working at this location were mainly young women. These young women who worked constantly with very little pay were killed in an incident that could have very well been prevented. According to the video on May 25, 1911, the place in which the factory was located was by Washington square park which was “one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the city”. This fact alone is very disappointing. If the factory was located in one of the wealthiest parts of the city, you would think that these locations would have the at least proper conditions to work in, however time back then were much harsher than now. However, the factory was by definition a sweatshop. It was also very disappointing to hear that the company itself failed these women. Because the factory had no sort of sprinkler system, it had elevators that didn’t work and a fire escape that was too weak that ended up collapsing. According to the other video “Triangle Returns”, The emergency exits were blocked, not allowing the women to escape from the building. Emergency exits are there for a reason for emergencies, but the company had blocked these exits because they feared that the women would have stolen the products that were being made or would be sneaking to take breaks. So, in order to prevent theft, they had come this conclusion of blocking emergency exits, which at ended up not only destroying their products but having their workers killed. The manufacturers of the factory were found Not Guilty in their trail for manslaughter. The incident of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was used as a cautionary tale, that ended up helping the ILGWU to put the Sullivan-Hoey Fire Prevention Law into place.
The video “Triangle returns” also brings up a similar incident to that of The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. The similar incident occurred across the world in Bangladesh. The date was dec. 14. 2010, a fire had broken out in a factory in Bangladesh during a lunch break. Although the fire was occurring the workers were calm at first with the hopes that everything would be ok once they reached the emergency exits. However, the flames were too big that it blocked the exits, this made the workers try to leave from other fire exits but they were locked. Just like the incident of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, the workers began jumping out the windows in desperations. The story just repeated itself. And once again both the incidents had the exits locked to prevent theft. This just goes to show how much a company values their products more than these people’s lives. The workers in the Bangladesh factory were paid much, much less than what the workers in America were paid years ago. The snapshot by Jasmin H. where it shows a woman holding up a sign that says “I don’t want to DIE for FASHION” is a very powerful image because it discusses how the pay that these workers are receiving is so little, with such high risks. Of course, many people are in desperate need of work but the way these sweatshops pay these workers is unbelievable considering the income that they are receiving for the products being made.
Finally, the reading of “Virginia just became the 38th State to Pass the Equal Rights Amendment”, speaks on exactly that. The reading of the timeline in women’s suffrage, showed how the ERA has yet to be fully placed. According to the reading the ERA has fulfilled the “requirement that three-quarters of the states approve an amendment in order to add it to the U.S. Constitution”. Although the proposition for the ERA had been proposed centuries ago, now in modern day are we so close for the ERA to be added to the constitution. According to the article, the “… ratification seemed to be a given, with states quickly approving the amendment, but those ratifications slowed to a trickle. Crucially, the amendment’s passage had had a major consequence: mobilizing anti-feminists, including its arch- opponent Phyllis Schlafly, to defeat it.”. The article mentions that it won’t be an easy ride and will most likely not be added anytime soon. Because there was a deadline for the ratification of the ERA it makes it difficult.
