SAG-AFTRA Remembers the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

On Monday, March 25, SAG-AFTRA members joined Executive Vice President Linda Powell, New York Local President Ezra Knight, Chief Labor Policy Officer Rebecca Damon, and New York Local Board members to commemorate the 113th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. Attendees gathered at Washington Place and Greene Street, the site of the fire, and the location of the recently dedicated monument commemorating the lives lost. 

The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire took the lives of 146 young workers, primarily immigrant women of Jewish and Italian descent. It was a preventable tragedy that jump-started the modern labor movement and the fight for safer working conditions for all. To honor the legacy of the victims, their names were read aloud and a white rose was placed with their names on the monument. The New York Fire Department ceremoniously raised the fire ladder to the side of the building, showing that the ladder can now easily reach greater heights and bring people to safety. Also in attendance were New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon, New York City Central Labor Council President Vincent Alavarez and descendants of the fire victims.

Top photo: From left, New York Local Board member Jack Mulcahy, Chief Labor Policy Officer Rebecca Damon, Eugene Calamari, New York Local Board member Avis Boone, New York Local President Ezra Knight, Executive Vice President Linda Powell, National Board member Samatha Mathis, and New York convention delegate Josh Evans.