And all who jumped died: the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire

Abstract

Suggests that the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire in New York City in 1911 was the veritable genesis of laws safeguarding workers. The events of the 18‐minute inferno which killed 146 young, immigrant garment workers are summarized, as are the factory owners’ responses to the fire, along with the rationalizations they used to defend their lethal actions, which included moral justification, accusing the accuser, blaming the victim, advantageous comparison, responsibility displacement, responsibility diffusion, dehumanization, and blame attribution. Reviews workplace reforms initiated as a direct result of this fire and discusses why such historical disasters are unlikely to re‐occur if three simple lessons are heeded: first, it is unfortunate that it has required major trauma or carnage to awaken the public to the realities of existing dangers; second, mere compliance with existing statutes is often insufficient for protecting workers; and third, organizations which fail to self‐monitor will often be subjected to external control and regulation.

Citation

Lanier Pence, P., Phillips Carson, P., Carson, K.D., Hamilton, J.B. and Birkenmeier, B. (2003), "And all who jumped died: the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire", Management Decision, Vol. 41 No. 4, pp. 407-421. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251740310468135