Triangle Shirtwaist Fire 100 years ago today

[Newburgher 241]

http://www.historybu...shirtwaist.html

Tomorrow is the 100th Anniversary of this tragedy. Resulted in Strengthening collective bargaining, as well as Building Codes.

Edited March 24, 2011 by Newburgher

[mstrang1 213]

Not only is today the anniversary of Triangle, it is also the anniversary of the Happyland Social CLub fire which killed 87 people, in The Bronx.

[bad box 371]

http://www.historybu...shirtwaist.html

March 25th is the 100th Anniversary of this horrendous tragedy. The deaths of these innocent workers resulted in strengthening collective bargaining, as well as Building Codes.

This act of mass murder allowed the labor movement to kick into gear. Business owners who looked upon their hard working employees as nothing more than petty servants now were going to be forced to do what they would never do voluntarily: create and maintain clean / safe workplaces and compensate the people (who made their great wealth possible) with a living wage, fair benefits and the chance to retire with a pension at the end of their productive careers.

Now it's 100 years later and the rich corporate thugs and greedy (corporate supported) politicians of our country are trying to undue all of the good that grew from this terrible tragedy.

Republican elected officials across our country who were elected on the backs of expensive (corporate financed) campaigns are now following through with their payoffs to their wealthy campaign contributors in the form of:

-Attacks on unions, pitting the middle class against one another ... non-union vs. union, private sector vs. public sector in an effort to 'divide and conquer' the middle class.

-Taking away pensions or making the employees contribute more than what they contractually had agreed to.

-Taking away health benefits or charging the employees more than what they contractually had agreed to.

-Raising the retirement age to force employees to work way later in life then they should have to.

AND ... They are attacking fire departments by closing down firehouses, eliminating units, laying off firefighters, cutting staffing on units, etc.

NEVER FORGET ...

-The fire department was the first line of defense for those terrified, trapped, dying workers 100 years ago on March 25th.

-The fire department was the first line of defense for those terrified, trapped, dying people killed 21 years ago on March 25th (87 dead: Happyland Social Club, Bronx, N.Y.)

-The fire department was the first line of defense for those terrified, trapped, dying people in the World Trade Center both in 1993 and 2001.

-The fire department was the first line of defense for those terrified, trapped, dying victims in the plane and on the ground on November 12, 2001 (266 killed) in the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 Rockaway Queens, N.Y.

-The fire department was the first line of defense at nuclear disasters in Russia on April 26, 1986 and currently in Japan.

The middle class needs to wake up and not allow the far too wealthy of our country to destroy the health, safety, financial future and the way of life of America's backbone ... The Middle Class

Edited March 26, 2011 by bad box