I remember learning about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in middle school, but hearing about it now as an adult, I am able to understand the importance and impact of that event better. As a kid it was presented as something that was “bad but we fixed it”, where it is much bigger than that. 146 people should not have had to die for this country to finally reform labor laws (AND fire safety laws) . What is heartbreaking to me is that people jumped out of the buildings not just to avoid death by fire, but so there would be an actual body left behind for the family to mourn.
The man in the video says that, “Management would lock the exit doors during a fire so garments can’t be stolen”, which I think is a testament to how capitalism values money/profit immensely over workers’ lives. I think this continues to remain today.

The article “Virginia Just Became the 38th State to Pass the Equal Rights Amendment. Here’s What to Know About the History of the ERA” ends with noting that most people don’t even know the ERA hasn’t been ratified, even it’s been floating around since 1923. And it’s true! I didn’t know about any of this. It’s baffling to me that the ERA/ Equal rights remains a controversial opinion. The ERA initially failed because of anti-feminists actions. Phyliss Schlafly, founder of an anti-ERA group is quoted saying: “What I am defending is the real rights of women. A woman should have the right to be in the home as a wife and mother.”  Somehow, these kinds of social/political/labor rights issues always come back to the defense of “You can’t have rights because it steals from mine.”