We must always be a nation that catches workers before they fall.
Hilda Solis, US Secretary of Labor.
Hilda Solis recently wrote a column in the Washington Post about what the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire means for workers today. That fire occurred in New York on March 25, 1911; 146 mostly young women died in the fire or jumped to their death to escape the fire. Fire exits were inadequate, doors were locked, there was no fire fighting equipment available, fire rescue ladders didn’t reach. The lessons continue on. Whether it is sweatshops of today, with Asian and African immigrants, or mine safety, the need to protect our workers will never go away.