|
|
|
As labor's right to collectively bargain is weighed by a Wisconsin court, the State of NY is commemorating two tragedies that occurred 100 years ago this week, and which helped galvanize the labor movement in this country.
ALBANY --
It happened on the lower east side on March 25th, 1911. A fire raged through the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory taking the lives of 146 people, most of them young, female, and recent immigrants. The future governor and former Tammany Hack Al Smith was outraged by the tragedy and used his position to pass a significant series of protections.
New York's then Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins also witnessed the fire. She and Smith are credited for maintaining the integrity of the Factory Fire Investigating Commission…
A second fire, this time in Albany just 4 days later, destroyed most of the State Capitol building…
Both events are said to have led directly to the creation of the modern labor department, and establish collective bargaining as a right.
Labor is under fire lately in states like Wisconsin where the legislature voted to neuter collective bargain. But one long-time union organizer says Wisconsin isn't the end of the discussion.
The end isn't even close. With a $10 billion budget gap, many of the same lawmakers attending commemoration ceremonies will be asked to vote on budget requiring $450 million in work force savings.
Popular Stories
|
