The Factory Girls

The Factory Girls

YA/adult nonfiction
"The tiny fire that afternoon grew into a raging inferno, an
uncontrollable fire that injured or killed hundreds of people. Those
who survived were haunted for the rest of their lives by the images
they saw, the sounds they heard, and the searing heat they felt. The
Triangle Factory fire of 1911 is unarguably one of the greatest
workplace tragedies in American history, and one that should never be
forgotten."
Christine Seifert first learned of that tragic fire as a
freshperson in college. A couple of paragraphs in a history textbook
so transfixed her that she forgot to eat her sandwich. "...Who were
these girls and how did they end up in that New York City factory on
March 25, 1911? What must life have been like for a factory girl in
the early 1900s in America? And how do we make sure the factory
girls' story is never forgotten?..."
This curiosity must have been very strong because it took a lot
of serious research for her to write The Factory Girls.
The books interweaves several strands seamlessly. There is the
story of the fire itself, centered around the experiences of five of
the workers: Annie, Bessie, Rose, Fannie, and Kate. In the beginning
you get to know them as individuals with families, hopes, and fears.
You don't learn their fates until the very end.
There are also chapters on what it was like to come to America,
to work in factories, and to risk all to go on strike. Families fled
pogroms (systematic brutality), forced military service, poverty, and
natural disasters, only to end up in tenements with every family
member needing to work for mere survival. Conditions even children
labored under were horrific. But striking risked hunger and
homelessness.
The third strand is one that is sadly all too true today. Mass
produced clothing had become popular and stylish. Being in style had
become important to people's self image, a trend facilitated by
suddenly ubiquitous advertising. Low wages and lack of costly safety
programs allowed manufacturers to churn out the cheap fashions the
crowds coveted.
Many of today's fashion must haves are made in third world
nations by people working for pitiful pay under unsafe conditions. In
fact a century after the Triangle fire 111 people died in a Bangladesh
fire under highly similar circumstances...
...which is why we all need to read the book and let it remove
our clothing complacency.
PS It's the next morning and I just read a news story about people who
bought Zara clothes finding notes in garments from the people who made
them saying they aren't being paid.
On a personal note, Black History Month is really bringing people
together to commemorate and celebrate. Yesterday we watched and
discussed a video on black girls growing up with white images of
beauty while we enjoyed a scrumptious lunch catered to Moe's Barbeque.
A great big shout out goes out to the people who are doing all the
work to bring this month together, people who attend and participate,
and the folks at Moe's who know how to do barbeque right.
jules hathaway



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