The main, or central, idea of the passage is Because of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, the government began to regulate working conditions in factories. How does the detail in bold develop the main idea?The early twentieth century was a difficult time for New York City's garment workers, many of whom were immigrant women who worked long hours in dangerous factories for poverty-level wages. After the garment workers went on strike in 1910, some factory owners improved their workplaces and allowed employees to join unions. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was a notable exception: the owners resisted a union and continued to maintain shoddy working conditions. On March 25, 1911, a fire broke out at the factory. Many workers were trapped inside; the rickety fire escape collapsed, and the only accessible exit had been locked. In all, 146 workers perished. The tragedy sparked public outrage about labor injustices, and citizens pressed their government to take action. Consequently, over the next few years, New York's legislature passed many laws designed to improve workplace safety.It identifies the conditions that led to the great loss of life in the fire.It highlights the proposed changes to unsafe working conditions.It compares conditions in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory before and after laws were passed.Submit

According to the documentary film on New York City, the March 1911 Triangle Factory fire mainly took the lives of which ONE of the following?Group of answer choicesNew York University students whose school was located near the factoryYoung immigrant women who worked in the factoryOlder immigrant men working in the factoryNew York City firefighters and police officers

Identify the statements that accurately describe the working environment within the Triangle Shirtwaist Company.Correct Answer(s)Drag appropriate answer(s) hereSome 500 workers earned as little as three dollars per week.The owners, who were concerned for workers’ safety, installed a modern sprinkler system.The women who worked for the company were some of the highest-paid workers in the textile industry.The doors to the stairwell within the factory were locked to discourage worker theft and unauthorized bathroom breaks.

According to the documentary film on New York City, the fight between reformers and the owners of the women's garment industry was slowed down by which ONE of the following?Group of answer choicesThe disorganization of the Women's Garment Union which prevented them from lobbying for work safety lawsThe lack of momentum behind the general strike which caused the movement to fizzle outThe political machine of Tammany Hall which controlled the city's government and policeCorporate lawyers, who silenced union members by suing anyone who spoke out against the industry PreviousNext

Identify which of the answers is a key word in the paragraph that follows. The paragraph is about the fire at the Triangle Waist Company building that killed 146 people in New York City in 1911. A fire at the Triangle Waist Company factory, a ten-story high building, yesterday caused the deaths of one hundred and seventy-five workers. The fire, which began just after the workers stopped working, spread quickly through the top three floors used by the company, blocking access to staircases and elevators. Many of the young women and girls working there were burned in the fire, while others died after trying to escape through the windows. Few had time to escape, and instead could only watch in horror as the flames quickly approached. Source: The Jewish Daily Forward, 26 March 1911. Translated into English by Tina Lunson. http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5482.Multiple choice question.staircasesworkerselevatorswindows

Workers Rise Up: Development of Labor UnionsAs business leaders gained profits, exploitation and unsafe working conditions drew workers together in a nationwide labor movement. Laborers—skilled and unskilled, female and male, black and white—joined together in unions to try to improve their conditions. One of the largest employers, the steel mills, often demanded a seven-day workweek. Seamstresses, like factory workers in most industries, worked 12 or more hours a day, six days a week. Employees were not entitled to vacation, sick leave, unemployment compensation, or reimbursement for injuries suffered on the job. Yet injuries were common. In dirty, poorly ventilated factories, workers had to perform repetitive tasks, sometimes with dangerous or faulty equipment. In 1882, an average of 675 laborers were killed in work-related accidents each week. In addition, wages were so low that most families could not survive unless everyone held a job. Between 1890 and 1910, for example, the number of women working for wages doubled, from 4 million to more than 8 million. Twenty percent of the boys and 10 percent of the girls under age 15—some as young as five years old—also held full-time jobs. With little time or energy left for school, child laborers forfeited their futures to help their families make ends meet. In sweatshops, or workshops in tenements rather than in factories, workers had little choice but to put up with the conditions. Sweatshop employment, which was tedious and required few skills, was often the only avenue open to women and children.In 1869, the first union, or workers’ organization, was created called the Noble Order of the Knights of Labor. The Knights supported an eight-hour workday and advocated “equal pay for equal work” by men and women. They let all workers join, regardless of skill, race, or gender. The goal of a union is to advocate for worker’s rights through power in numbers. Workers don’t have money or power, but they have numbers, and if they refuse to work, employers will lose profits. Unions used a variety of tactics, including collective bargaining (bargaining for rights as a whole group), lock-ins (locking yourself in the factory), walk outs, boycotts and strikes. In retaliation, bosses would hire alternate workers, known as scabs, have lock outs, or get an injuction (court order) against unions. Many times, business owners reacted to union protests with violence and intimidation.The second famous union, the American Federation of Labor (AFL), was led by Samuel Gompers and used collective bargaining to reach agreements on wages, hours, and working conditions. The AFL only allowed white male skilled workers to join. Unlike the Knights of Labor, the AFL used strikes as a major tactic. Successful strikes helped the AFL win higher wages and shorter workweeks. Some labor leaders felt that unions should include all laborers—skilled and unskilled—in a specific industry. In an attempt to solve the problems faced by workers, Eugene Debs and some other labor activists eventually turned to socialism, an economic and political system based on government control of business and equal distribution of wealth. In 1905, a group of radical unionists and socialists in Chicago organized the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), or the Wobblies. Industry and government responded forcefully to union activity, which they saw as a threat to the entire capitalist system. Police often attacked union picket lines, and violence was common. On the evening of May 4, 1886, 3,000 people gathered at Chicago’s Haymarket Square to protest police brutality—a striker had been killed and several had been wounded at the McCormick Harvester plant the day before. Rain began to fall at about 10 o’clock, and the crowd was dispersing when police arrived. Then someone tossed a bomb into the police line. Police fired on the workers; seven police officers and several workers died in the chaos that followed. No one ever learned who threw the bomb, but the three speakers at the demonstration and five other radicals were charged with inciting a riot. All eight were convicted; four were hanged and one committed suicide in prison. In 1892, steel workers went on strike at Andrew Carnegie’s Homestead steel plant, and nine workers were killed. This was known as the Homestead Strike.Although women were barred from many unions, they united behind powerful leaders to demand better working conditions, equal pay for equal work, and an end to child labor. Perhaps the most prominent organizer in the women’s labor movement was Mary Harris Jones. Jones supported the Great Strike of 1877 and later organized for the United Mine Workers of America (UMW). She endured death threats and jail with the coal miners, who gave her the nickname Mother Jones. In 1903, to expose the cruelties of child labor, she led 80 mill children— many with hideous injuries—on a march to the home of President Theodore Roosevelt. Their crusade influenced the passage of child labor laws.Legal limitations made it more and more difficult for unions to be effective. Court orders and federal troops were consistently used to stop workers from organizing. Many politicians received money from business leaders, and so used their power to ensure that the bosses, and not the workers, remained in power. Despite these pressures, workers—especially those in skilled jobs—continued to view unions as a powerfulQUESTION 710 pointsWhat is union? Why were unions created during the Industrial Revolution?