On March 25, 1911, a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York’s Greenwich Village killed 146 workers. Most of the dead were recent Italian and Jewish immigrant women, some as young as 15 years old. Survivors, their families, and those who witnessed the fire were forever changed by the tragedy. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to mourn the dead silently.
Grief and moral outrage turned to action as unions stepped up their organizing drives, and community leaders and politicians pushed for laws to protect workers’ safety.
Source: http://www.iicnewyork.esteri.it/