Triangle Revisited

On March 25, 1911, a fire at the Triangle shirtwaist factory in New York's Greenwich Village left 146 people dead - 123 of them women.  The aftermath brought together the unlikely bedfellows Tammany Hall and labour reformers, leading to changes in workplace safety requirements.  On Sunday, a blaze at a garment factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh - operated by Tazreen Fashions Ltd. - left at least 112 dead, most of them women.  So much for progress.  It's getting harder to cheer for capitalism when its rapacious exploitation of workers continues unabated.   The most recent disaster, within days of the Black Friday shopping frenzy, is sobering.  We should all take a hard look at our consumption habits.

Triangle shirtwaist fire, March 25, 1911

Tazreen Fashions Ltd. fire, November 25, 2012

 

Black Friday bargain hunters, November 23, 2012