Bangladesh Garment Industries Helping Workers Have Safe Environments

“The ‘Triangle’ company, “With blood this name will be written in the history of the American workers’ movement, and with feeling will this history recall the names of the strikers of this shop- of the crusaders” (Von Drehle 86). Even before it happen, the Forward predicted the terrible disaster of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory that occurred one year, one month, and seventeen days later (86). Triangle: The Fire that Changed America, by David Von Drehle tells the story of the horrible fire.

Life in the early 1900’s wasn’t easy. Competition for jobs was at an all time high, especially in New York City. Immigrants were flooding in and needed to find work fast, even if that meant in the hot, overcrowded conditions of garment factories. Conditions were horrid and disaster was inevitable, and disaster did strike in March, 1911. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York set on fire, killing 146 workers. This is an important event in US history because it helped accomplish the tasks unions and strikes had tried to accomplish years earlier, It improved working conditions in factories nationwide and set new safety laws and regulations so that nothing as catastrophic would happen again. The workplace struggles became public after

There are several major factors contributing to Bangladesh’s poor growth. Some of which are, but not restricted to, limited exports,

In an era of a rising unionization, The Triangle Fire, calligraphy written my Leon Stein, describes one of the worst industrial disasters in the nation’s history that ended up killing 146 of the 500 Triangle Shirtwaist Company employees, which happened to be female immigrant workers. These immigrants came to the United States with their families in search for a better life. Instead they found themselves working long hours only to receive low wages along with horrendous working circumstances with very little freedom.

Some disasters are so impactful, that they forever change the course of history. On March 25, 1911, one such event took place. The infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Fire occurred that day, and left one hundred and forty-six people dead in its wake. While many at the time thought the story would soon pass, and with it all the potential bad publicity, the story of the fire spread quickly, and outraged many people. As a result, the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire ended up changing many

The book Out of This Furnace is a work of historical fiction written by Thomas Bell, in which the lives of four different individuals are told and woven together, and consequentially describe the changes taking place in different generations of immigrant workers in America. Beginning with Kracha, then leading to Mike, then Mary, and finally Dobie, this book does an excellent job of showing how the American immigrant's life changed mid 1800s to the 1920s. As seen in each generation, immigrants became as a whole more and more liberal in their beliefs and lifestyles. Many of their beliefs change, however, one of the most interesting is the development of the labor unions, and how they are viewed by the workers in that time period.

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a vast amount of recent immigrant workers were faced with a horrendous situation within the working class due to the selfish acts of greed from big business corporations. The impactful results of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in New York City during 1911 brought a devastating memory of horror, but at the same time a memory of an event that leads reforms. The Shirtwaist Factory Fire brings hope that even great tragedies such as it can provide change. The results from the fire drove socialist, trade unionists, and progressive reformers to finally get the push they needed to overcome the longstanding obstacles to reform. Reformers focused on various approaches to improving the situation

Around thirty labor laws were enforced in reaction to the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. A major law was enacted where employees should not have to risk their lives or health in the work place. Other laws included that all high risk building had to have automatic sprinkler systems installed and that all exits had to be unlocked and swing to the outside. It is pivotal that safety measures are taken serious and enforced in a workplace. Deadly fires are bound to happen when the owners of a company neglect the safety of their workers and that is what caused this

On April 24, 2013, NewYorkTimes journalist Jim Yardley reported on the collapse of Rana Plaza, an eight-story factory complex in the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, which claimed the lives of 1,100 people. A 400-page report of the incident places the blame squarely on the shoulders of the building's owner, Sohel Rana, along with the owners of the building's five garment factories, who now face possible charges of murder, along with accusations of “ignoring safety warnings and locking exit doors,” while the Bangladeshi government continues to receive harsh criticism for its lax enforcement of labor safety standards in the country's billion-dollar clothing manufacturing industry (“Sweatshop Labor”). The garment industry in Bangladesh is one of the world's leading exporters of clothing, second only to China, with more than 5,000 garment factories employing an excess of 3 million workers, producing merchandise for top brand retailers in the United States and Europe (Yardley; “Sweatshop Labor”). Workers in these factories endure long hours and unsafe working conditions for wages so low parents must send their children to work instead of school so that they have enough to eat. The tragedy of Rana Plaza brings to the forefront the true cost of things; is it worth 1,100 lives to save a few dollars on a shirt or a pair of jeans?

On a Saturday afternoon in March, a fire broke out on the top couple floors of a building at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company. No one could image that a quiet afternoon would turn into a chaos in a moment of time, changing the lives of young workers. The book Triangle the Fire That Changed America is a movingly comprehensive explanation of the 1911 tragedy that shocked the country and changed the course of twentieth-century politics and labor relations. In the first part of the book, David Von Drehle scrutinizes the victims of the fire that broke out shortly before quitting time at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory on Saturday, March 25, 1911. Von Drehle brings these people and their neighborhoods to life. During the fire a total of about hundreds

During the 18th century, England and the Americas were mostly agricultural based societies. The majority of people lived in rural communities, worked at home, and used basic tools or handmade machinery in order to make a living for their family. Soon, the innovation in the textile and iron industries created a shift towards the Industrial Revolution, and many people began to migrate to more urban areas in order to work in factories. Although the revolution was faced with many problems, such as grim employment and living conditions for the poor and working classes, industrial growth helped the economy as there was a boom in manufactured goods at lowered costs. The United States, during this time, was rapidly expanding, and industry was growing by leaps and bounds. In New York City, the garment industry flourished which led to the immigration boom as people, mainly from Europe, immigrated to America for a better life and for better economic opportunities. The Triangle Fire, by Jo Ann E. Argersinger is set during the time of the Progressive era in America and details a turning point in American history. Culturally, many immigrants began to embrace American lifestyle; although, they still had strong ties to their own traditions which caused the concept of “the melting pot.” Historically, many key events contributed to, and influenced future cultural and societal changes. Philosophically, in the United States, the terrible working and living conditions of

It took many years for the commissions and unions to get the changes implemented. Today, regardless of OSHA enforcement, there are still workplaces with locked or blocked emergency exits. Due to the lesson that was learned in the Triangle fire, we now have organizations like OSHA, NFPA, state and local municipals that make code and enforce standards. Their goal is to ensure the safety of lives and property by enforcing the codes and standards of all workplaces

Two years after the infamous Triangle fire, 20,000 workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts; angered over wage cuts and deplorable conditions went on strike, prompting the twin reactions of police brutality and press coverage (Hodson & Sullivan, 2008). “As a result of the strike, not only were wages raised and conditions improved in the textile industry as a whole, but important legislation was also enacted that restricted the exploitation of child and female labor” (Hodson & Sullivan, 2008, p. 132). It is doubtful that working conditions would have evolved to the level of equity we find today, without the sacrifice and activism of unions and their members.

“Whereas We, Children of America, are declared to have been born free and equal, and” Child labor should not be allow in clothing factories. One reason why child labor should not be allowed is because child laboring is like a slavery, and children have human rights too. The second reason is kids need to get a education.

Children are less biologically mature and less physically strong, which makes them easier to get injured. Due to the danger and chemicals they face in sweatshops, children could develop many diseases as they grow up. The developmental risk factors for children who work in factories are, rapid skeletal growth, greater risk of hearing and vision loss, higher chemical absorption rates, lower heat tolerance. They also have no access to clean water, hand washing, and toilets, and they are exposed to pesticides and sharp tools. Children who work long hours on a regular basis could harm their social and education development. And the reason why injuries happen among the young workers then adults is the lack of experience. According to Clark, “ Children are more likely to trip or get caught in machinery, and their bodies have more trouble breaking down chemical toxins and excreting them “ ( 1996). Child labor has increased in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Around the world there are an estimation of 200 million child laborers ages 6-15. In pursuit of few dollars, children are being sacrificed, some of them are only five or six years old spending their days working in factories, mines, sweatshops, markets, and building sites or sorting through refuse heaps. Parents feel obligated to invest in their older children’s education expecting them they will help finance their younger brothers and sisters education who are already working. In most part of the world, child labor is illegal in most part of the world, and yet it is increasing in many countries believing children are profitable and are very easy to exploit Since,“ they can be paid less, are easily abused without provoking retaliation and are not organized like adults might be” ( Venter, Lancaster 2000). If people around the world get together to demand the rights of those poor