(NEW YORK CITY) - Labor Advocates, Union Members and families gathered at the corner of Greene Street and Washington Place on Tuesday (March 25th) to honor the 146 Workers who died in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire 114 years ago.

The Workers, who were predominantly Italian and Jewish Immigrants, were remembered during a ceremony held by the Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition and the New York City Central Labor Coalition.

The Garment Workers were trapped by a fire that rapidly consumed the eighth floor, spreading to the ninth and 10th floors of the Asch building, and were unable to escape because their bosses kept the exit doors locked to prevent them from taking breaks.

“Many people out there think this is history and this doesn’t happen anymore, but all of us know that still today, too often, corporate profits are valued over human lives and Workers are put at terrible risk,” Terri Gerstein, the Director of Wagner Labor Initiative at New York University’s Graduate School of Public Service, said during the ceremony, which is held annually.  

She continued: “Extreme heat kills hundreds of Workers every year, warehouses with unreasonable quotas ... with inhumane expectations that cause serious injuries. We’ve had children in the past couple of years working in car factories, in poultry and meat-packing plants, where no child should ever be working. And on top of all this, we know that the Federal Government is right now being dismantled by a billionaire. But in the face of all of this, my message is one of hope, because Workers are fighting for change.”

Ruth Sergel, founder of the Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition, spoke of the Labor Law advancements made in the years after the fire: “The people standing where we stand today could do nothing in that moment to save those Workers. But they took that pain, and that rage, and they transferred it into energy, and they created change. They got the New Deal, they strengthened the Union Movement, they got fire and safety laws which protect us to this day.”

Several Advocates and Union Members likened those efforts to current movements to protect Workers, such as Postal Workers’ rallying against potential plans by the Trump Administration to privatize the United States Postal Service.

“The doors are still locked, but today, they’re using executive orders. We won’t go back,” said Jonathan Smith, the President of the New York Metro Area Postal Workers Union. “Our weapon is unity. We must stand together.”

To Continue Reading This Labor News Report, Go To: Triangle Factory ceremony a 'chance to renew pledge to protect workers' - The Chief

Photo Courtesy Of The New York City AFL-CIO’s Facebook Page.