[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 4364]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          WE WILL NOT GO BACK

  (Ms. SCHAKOWSKY asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Friday, March 25, marks the 100th anniversary of the 
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. The deaths of 146 workers--mostly 
young women--were avoidable. If the owners of the factory had not 
locked the doors to the stairwells and exits, if they had installed a 
stable fire escape or put in sprinklers, many of those lives would not 
have been painfully and tragically lost.
  The International Ladies Garment Workers Union didn't just mourn the 
victims--they organized. Their activism resulted in the passage of 
major worker protections--not just new fire-safety laws but laws 
against the 7-day work weeks and child labor. The Triangle tragedy 
helped expand the right to union representation--a voice at work.
  One hundred years later, we confront a coordinated effort to roll 
back those hard-fought gains. Just as the Triangle fire spurred people 
into action, the anti-working family agenda of Wisconsin Governor Scott 
Walker has mobilized millions. The message is clear: We will not go 
back.

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