[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 27, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H1124-H1125]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        MARCH 25 MARKS 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF TRAGIC TRIANGLE FIRE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2001, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, this past Sunday, March 25, came and went. 
March 25 is the 90th anniversary of the tragic Triangle fire, an event 
that changed the course of American history. On that day in 1911, a 
fire broke out at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory located on 
the top floors of the Asch Building on the corner of Greene Street and 
Washington Place in New York City.
  The 575 workers who worked at the sewing machines had cans which 
collected the excess oil from the sewing machines. These cans were 
placed on top of boxes of lint. You can just imagine the picture now. A 
spark, an ignition, and the whole place went up, and 146 people out of 
the 475 that were working that day died. These people could not get out 
of the factory because the doors had been bolted. The doors had been 
locked by those who put profit ahead of worker safety. Times have 
changed, have they not?
  Mr. Speaker, we argued on this floor in the last 2 years and 3 years 
about trade relations with other countries. I opposed those trade 
agreements that were not reciprocal but were one way, and we talked 
about the working conditions in other countries as not being up to what 
they should be; and yet here on our own mean streets of the United 
States of America, the greatest republic in the world, these factories 
still exist. Sweat labor still exists, and who speaks for those people, 
locked away for 12 and 16 hours? Who is here to talk about working 
conditions and what situations people have to go through to bring bread 
home to their families? Many times they are the new waves of 
immigrants, nowhere else to work, but in conditions that you and I 
would never accept.
  Mr. Speaker, this fire is cited in the United States Almanac because 
it is the worst industrial fire in the history of the Nation. Business 
at the time was only concerned with the bottom line. Fire inspections 
and precautions were woefully inadequate. The Triangle factory had 
never conducted a fire drill. That building was supposed to be 
fireproof. There was no oversight and there certainly was no OSHA.
  Mr. Speaker, we have all heard the debates of the past few weeks 
about protecting the workers. The employees were not in labor unions 
either, or just a few of them. There was no one there to protect them 
or speak for them. They were exploited and abused; and while we talk 
about working conditions in Honduras, in China, and well we should, 
right here in major suburbs and cities of this country, we know that 
the Department of Labor knows best about what goes on behind those 
locked doors right in the heart of New York City.
  Mr. Speaker, in the wake of this tragedy people throughout the Nation 
demanded restitution, justice, and action that would safeguard the 
vulnerable and the oppressed. There were massive protests by people 
angry at the lack of concern and the greed that made the Triangle fire 
possible. As a direct result of that horrible tragedy, there was a 
substantial effort to alleviate the most dangerous aspects of sweatshop 
manufacturing in New York and throughout the Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, on February 17, 2001, not too long ago, the last 
survivor of that factory blaze, Rose Freedman, passed away at 107 years 
of age. It is important that we not let the memory of the Triangle fire 
be extinguished from our memories. It is important that the workers of 
America, be they on farms, be they in factories, or be they in 
electronic cubicles, stand up and speak out when they see things that 
are unsafe. The courts will protect them; and if the courts do not, we 
will.
  Mr. Speaker, this past Sunday, March 25th, came and went. March 25 
was the 90th anniversary of the tragic Triangle Fire, an event that 
changed the course of American history. On that day in 1911, a fire 
broke out at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory, located on the 
top floors of the Asch Building on the corner of Greene Street and 
Washington Place in New York City.
  The fire swept through the top 3 stories of the building in only \1/
2\ hour. When the fire ended, 146 of the 575 Triangle factory employees 
had died. Not all died in the fire. Many jumped to their deaths from 
the 8th, 9th, and 10th floors rather than face the flames.
  It is cited in the U.S. Almanac because it is the worst industrial 
fire in the history of American industry.
  Most of the Triangle factory workers were women. Most of the workers 
were recent European, Jewish or Italian immigrants, some as young as 11 
years old. These women had come to the United States with their 
families to seek a better life.
  But the harsh realities of working in a sweatshop was their reality.
  Business at the time was only concerned with the bottom line. Fire 
inspections and precautions were woefully inadequate.
  The Triangle factory had never conducted a fire drill and had locked 
doors, poor sanitation, and crowding. There was no oversight. There 
certainly was no OSHA. Most of the employees were not in labor unions. 
There was no one there to protect them from being exploited and abused.
  However, in the wake of this tragedy, people throughout the nation 
demanded restitution, justice, and action that would safeguard the 
vulnerable and oppressed. It is unfortunate that it took events such as 
the Triangle Fire to

[[Page H1125]]

demand change. There were massive protests by people angry at the lack 
of concern and the greed that had made the Triangle fire possible.
  As a direct result of this horrible fire, there was a substantial 
effort to alleviate the most dangerous aspects of sweatshop 
manufacturing in New York and throughout the nation.
  On February 17, 2001, the last survivor of the factory blaze, Rose 
Freedman, passed away at the age of 107.
  It is important that we not let the memory of the Triangle Fire be 
extinguished from our memories.
  It is for this reason that I have introduced House Concurrent 
Resolution 81 with my friend from New York, Mr. King. This resolution 
recognizes the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the Triangle Fire.
  In my mind, this resolution is very simple and very straightforward. 
I taught my students about the fire in just this manner when I taught 
history class. But apparently, for reasons that escape me, it is just 
too controversial for today. And that is a shame.
  In 1911, the Triangle Fire brought attention to the many serious 
problems facing factory employees and paved the way for worker 
protection laws.
  In the year 2001, we cannot even recognize the memory of the fire and 
its victims on the House floor. But even worse than not considering a 
simple, non-binding resolution, is that we are letting history repeat 
itself.
  The truth is that young workers around the world are dying needlessly 
in burning factories for the same reasons that the women died in the 
Triangle Fire.
  Meeting the bottom line is apparently worth the cost of inhuman 
conditions. We are repeating the same mistakes that the U.S. remedied 
decades ago. And although we have standards to protect American 
workers, our trade agreements lack teeth and do not even mention labor 
rights. By ignoring international workers rights abuses, we are not 
only allowing, but assisting in the mistreatment of millions of workers 
in sweatshops around the globe.
  It is our own fault that nothing has changed.
  This global economy that we support, apparently without question or 
reservation, is allowing countries to fight for commerce by allowing 
the lowest standards. And if this standard allows for a factory to lock 
its doors, while children work for twelve-hour days to make children's 
toys at the lowest cost possible, so be it.
  And if there is a 1993 fire at a factory in Bangkok which kills 188 
workers, eerily similar to the Triangle Fire, then the company can just 
move its business to another location and re-set up shop--no questions 
asked. No sanctions imposed.
  As William Greider points out in his introduction to the book, The 
Triangle Fire, ``the passivity of government and the public simply 
leads further down a low road. More injustices appear, and they, too, 
must be tolerated in the name of commerce.''
  ``In the name of commerce.''
  It is ``in the name of commerce'' that international laws will not 
produce reasonable standards for business performance.
  It is in the name of competitive advantage, that instead of improving 
working conditions, countries are trying to out do each other with the 
lowest standards to attract our commerce.
  Changing the attitude of all Americans is not easy, but it is the 
right thing to do. Everyone should be outraged by sweatshops. But they 
should be just as outraged that we in the United States are enabling 
the sweatshops to continue.
  I urge my colleagues to cosponsor House Concurrent Resolution 81, and 
remember the Triangle Fire. Remember what it did for our country. Honor 
the victims of the fire.
  And recognize the ability of progressive thinking organizations, with 
the help of businesses groups and government support, to change the 
lives of people for the better.

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