The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
In New York City, on March 25th 1911, a deadly industrial fire struck. The Triangle Shirtwaist fire resulted in the fourth highest deaths in an industrial incident in all of U.S. history. 146 garment workers died that day. 123 woman died and 23 men died from either fire, smoke, inhaling fumes, or suicide. Most workers were Jewish and Italian immigrants. When the workers tried to escape the fire, all of the doors were locked. The manager locked the doors to stop people from stealing or breaking in. Most managers at the time did this. Unfortunately, this caused 146 deaths, many of them being suicides from jumping off the eight, ninth, and tenth floors of the building. This fire led legislation to improved factory safety standards. The American Society of Safety Engineers and the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union was formed soon after. This improvement of safely standards is the same thing the Labor Unions were going for. This is what makes the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and the Labor Union Movement related.
Around 24 years after the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, The National Labor Relations Act was passed. It was "to prescribe the legitimate rights of
both employees and employers in their relations affecting commerce" (This was quoted straight from the Taft-Hartley Act regarding the National Labor Relations Act. This act was passed with the hope of stopping strikes.