On March 25, 1911, a catastrophic fire broke out at the Triangle Waist Company in New York City. Trapped inside the upper floors of a 10-story building, 146 workers—mostly young immigrant women and teenage girls—were burned alive or forced to jump to their deaths to escape an inferno that consumed the factory in just 18 minutes. It was the worst workplace disaster in New York state until 9/11.
The tragedy changed the course of history, paving the way for government to represent working people, not just business, for the first time, and helped an emerging American middle class to live the American Dream.
Please join the Center for American Progress for a panel discussion immediately following the film.
Featured speakers:
Heather Boushey, Senior Economist, Center for American Progress
Kirstin Downey, Author, The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR’s Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience
Michael Kazin, Professor, Department of History, Georgetown University
Moderated by:
John Halpin, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress