3917 E MacArthur Rd.
Wichita, KS. 67210
A Publication for “The Fighting Machinists” Representing the Workers of Spirit AeroSystems
Vol.10 Number 3
www.ll839.org
www.goiam.org
March 2015
March 2015
On Saturday, March 25, 1911, a fire broke out on the top floors of the Triangle Shirtwaist factory. Firefighters
arrived at the scene, but their ladders weren’t tall enough to reach the upper floors of the 10-story building.
Trapped inside because the owners had locked the fire escape exit doors, workers jumped to their deaths. In a
half an hour, the fire was over, and 146 of the 500 workers—mostly young women—were dead.
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of March 25, 1911
Many of us have read about the tragic Triangle fire in school textbooks. But the fire alone wasn’t what made
the shirtwaist makers such a focal point for worker safety. In fact, workplace deaths weren’t uncommon then.
It is estimated that more than 100 workers died every day on the job around 1911.
The shirtwaist makers’ story was so compelling because it brought attention to the events leading up to the
fire. After the fire, their story inspired hundreds of activists across the state and the nation to push for fundamental reforms. For some, such as Frances Perkins, who stood helpless watching the factory burn, the tragedy
inspired a lifetime of advocacy for workers’ rights. She later became secretary of labor under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
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The Life of a Shirtwaist Maker
The shirtwaist makers, as young as age 15, worked seven days a week, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. with a half-hour
lunch break. During the busy season, the work was nearly non-stop. They were paid about $6 per week. In
some cases, they were required to use their own needles, thread, irons and occasionally their own sewing machines. The factories also were unsanitary, or as a young striker explained, “unsanitary—that’s the word that
is generally used, but there ought to be a worse one used.” At the Triangle factory, women had to leave the
building to use the bathroom, so management began locking the steel exit doors to prevent the “interruption
of work” and only the foreman had the key.
The “shirtwaist”—a woman’s blouse—was one of the country’s first fashion statements that
crossed class lines. The booming ready-made clothing industry made the stylish shirtwaist
affordable even for working women. Worn with an ankle-length skirt, the shirtwaist was
appropriate for any occasion—from work to play—and was more comfortable and practical
than fashion that preceded it, like corsets and hoops.
Clara Lemlich
Years before the Triangle fire, garment workers actively sought to improve their
working conditions—including locked exits in high-rise buildings—that led to the
deaths at Triangle. In fall 1909, as factory owners pressed shirtwaist makers to work
longer hours for less money, several hundred workers went on strike. On Nov. 22,
Local 25 of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU) convened a
meeting to discuss a general strike. Thousands of workers packed the hall. Nineteenyear-old Clara Lemlich was sitting in the crowd listening to the speakers—mostly
men—caution against striking. Clara was one of the founders of Local 25, whose
membership numbered only a few hundred, mostly female, shirtwaist and dressmakers. A few months earlier, hired thugs had beaten her savagely for her union involvement, breaking ribs. When the meeting’s star attraction, the American Federation of Labor President Samuel Gompers, spoke, the crowd went wild. After he finished, Clara expected a strike vote. Instead, yet another speaker went to the podium.
Tired of hearing speakers for more than two hours, Clara made her way to the stage, shouting, “I want to say
a few words!” in Yiddish. Once she got to the podium, she continued, “I have no further patience for talk as I
am one of those who feels and suffers from the things pictured. I move that we go on a general strike...now!”
The audience rose to their feet and cheered, then voted for a strike.
The Uprising of 20,000
The next morning, throughout New York’s garment district, more than 15,000 shirtwaist makers walked out.
They demanded a 20-percent pay raise, a 52-hour workweek and extra pay for overtime. The local union,
along with the Women’s Trade Union League, held meetings in English and Yiddish at dozens of halls to discuss plans for picketing. When picketing began the following day, more than 20,000 workers from 500 factories had walked out. More than 70 of the smaller factories agreed to the union’s demands within the first 48
hours.
Meanwhile, the fiercely anti-union owners of the Triangle factory met with owners of the 20 largest factories
to form a manufacturing association. Many of the strike leaders worked there, and the Triangle owners wanted to make sure other factory owners were committed to doing whatever it took—from using physical force
(by hiring thugs to beat up strikers) to political pressure (which got the police on their side)—to not back
down.
Soon after, police officers began arresting strikers, and judges fined them and sentenced some to labor camps.
One judge, while sentencing a picketer for “incitement,” explained, “You are striking against God and Nature, whose law is that man shall earn his bread by the sweat of his brow. You are on strike against God!”
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The struggle and spirit of the women strikers caught the attention of suffragists. Wealthy progressive women
like Anne Morgan (daughter of J.P. Morgan) and Alva Belmont (whose first husband, William Vanderbilt,
presented her with a home so lavish, it was worth $150 million in today’s dollars) believed that all women—
rich and poor—would be treated better if women had the right to vote. Alva saw the labor uprising as an opportunity to move the women strikers’ concerns into a broader feminist struggle. She arranged huge rallies,
fund-raising events and even spent nights in court paying the fines for arrested strikers.
The coalition of the wealthy suffragists and shirtwaist strikers quickly gained momentum and favorable publicity. Fifteen thousand shirtwaist makers in Philadelphia went on strike, and even replacement workers at
the Triangle factory joined the strike—shutting it down.
A month into the strike, most of the small and mid-sized factories settled with the strikers, who then returned
to work. The large factories, which were the holdouts, knew they had lost the war of public opinion and were
finally ready to negotiate. They agreed to higher pay and shorter hours but refused even to discuss a closed
shop (where factories would hire only union members and treat union and nonunion workers equally in hiring and pay decisions).
At a series of mass meetings, thousands of strikers voted unanimously to reject the factory owners’ proposal.
They insisted on a closed shop provision in which all employees at a worksite were members of a union. For
these young women workers, the strike had become more than taking a stand for a pay raise and reduced
work hours. They wanted to create a union with real power and solidarity.
While a closed shop became standard practice in later decades, at the time, their insistence seemed radical.
The issue unraveled the alliance between the union and the wealthy progressive women. But by then, only a
few thousand workers were still on strike, from the largest, most unyielding companies—including Triangle.
In February 1910, the strike finally was settled. The few remaining factories rehired the strikers, agreed to
higher wages and shorter hours and recognized the union in name only, resisting a closed shop. Local 25,
which prior to the strike represented only a few hundred members, now had more than 20,000. However,
workers at Triangle went back to work without a union agreement. Management never addressed their demands, including unlocked doors in the factory and fire escapes that functioned.
The Legacy of the Shirtwaist Makers
A week after the fire, Anne Morgan and Alva Belmont hosted a meeting at the Metropolitan Opera House to
demand action on fire safety, and people of all backgrounds packed the hall. A few days later, more than
350,000 people participated in a funeral march for the Triangle dead.
Three months later, after pressure from activists, New York’s governor signed a law creating the Factory Investigating Commission, which had unprecedented powers. The commission investigated nearly 2,000 factories in dozens of industries and, with the help of such workers’ rights advocates as Frances Perkins, enacted
eight laws covering fire safety, factory inspections and sanitation and employment rules for women and children. The following year, they pushed for 25 more laws—entirely rewriting New York State’s labor laws and
creating a State Department of Labor to enforce the laws. During the Roosevelt administration, Frances Perkins and Robert Wagner (who chaired the commission) helped create the nation’s most sweeping worker protections through the New Deal, including the National Labor Relations Act.
Clara Lemlich became a full-time activist, after being blacklisted by the garment industry association, and
founded a working-class suffrage group. She later organized mothers around housing and education issues.
Even in her last days at a nursing home, Clara helped to organize the orderlies.
Sources
Cornell University ILR School, Triangle Fire Online Exhibit; Jewish Women’s Archive; Sachar, Howard M. A History of
the Jews in America, Knopf: 1992; Von Drehle, David. Triangle: The Fire that Changed America, Atlantic Monthly Press:
2003; Wertheimer, Barbara M. We Were There: The Story of Working Women in America, Pantheon Books: 1997.
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Community Service Committee
By: Andi Petersen
The Community Service Committee would like to thank the membership for the support that you
give to us when you purchase food from the kitchen and tickets for all of our drawings. The money
you spend enables us to procure additional items for baskets and raffles and allows us to help our
members in need! Thank you for all that you do!
The Community Service Committee would like to congratulate Joni Pierce
(pictured to the left). Joni has been a Shop Steward since 1986. She is on first
shift and works in IPB1 in PCA. Joni is the winner of the Valentines Day Basket. The basket includes a 1 night stay at the Hotel at Old Town, movies tickets, wine, wine glasses and other lovely items to make a Valentines Day extra special!
At the March Meeting the Community Service Committee will be hosting a drawing for a
March Madness Insignia - 48" - LED - 1080p - HDTV - Black TV and Basket; a perfect way to
start your March Madness Celebrations.
Tickets for the March Madness TV and Basket will sell for
$5 ea. or 5 for $20
Also at the March Meeting there will be a drawing for a St. Patrick’s Day Basket!
Tickets for the St. Patrick’s Day Basket will sell for $1 ea. or 6 for $5.
The Community Service Committee wishes you the Luck of the Irish!
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MACHINISTS MATTERS
March 2015
ATTENTION 2015 GRADUATING
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS!!!!!
The International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAMAW)
Local Lodge 839, Community Service Committee
is hosting an Essay Writing Contest
Four (4) $1,000 Scholarships Will Be Awarded
Scholarships will be granted as follows:

Two (2) $1,000 Scholarships will be awarded to contest winners
who will be graduating from high school in 2015 and who have an
immediate family member who is an IAMAW Local Lodge 839 union
member. (“Immediate family” is defined in the 2010 Collective
Bargaining Agreement.)

Two (2) $1,000 Scholarships will be awarded to contest winners
who will be graduating from a Kansas high school in 2015.
Students will write an essay answering the following question :
What are labor unions, and why are they important today? Include some of the positive historical contributions unions have made. Also include examples of how unions have impacted your
life personally.
For details regarding the scholarship contest please see your High School Counselor.
Flyers and essay guidelines are also available at the Local Lodge Office:
3917 E. MacArthur
Wichita, KS 67201
Monday - Friday, 8:00am –4:00pm
Email questions to [email protected]
MACHINISTS MATTERS
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February 2015
New Members for the Month of January 2015
BRENT BOUTHILLETTE
CHRISTOPHER CALL
MARK CULBERTSON
KYLE FOSTER
DEWAYNE R. FREEMAN
JARED HAGAR
SANDRA HANEY
KAYLA LEIS
RANDALL MALONE
CHAD MANESS
COLT MOORE
LARRY NGUYEN
DANNY L. POLLOCK
ELTON (DALE) REYNARD
TRAVIS ROBERTS
BRIAN A. WHITMER
Register at the Local Lodge Office today!!
International Association of Machinists
and Aerospace Workers
Monthly Union Meetings
2nd Saturday of the Month
Local Lodge 839
Executive Board meets at 8:00 AM
Regular Meeting at 10:00 AM
3917 E. MacArthur Rd.
Wichita, Kansas 67210
Phone: (316) 524-1090
Fax: (316) 529-1277
The Fighting Machinists
www.ll839.org
President - Andi Petersen
Vice President - Betty Brooks
Recording Secretary - Larry Stafford
Treasurer - Joni Pierce
Trustees - Susan Hiebert, Rickey Nelson
Cornell Beard
Conductor/Sentinel - Michael Danler
Communicator - Ron Lea
Educator - Austin Ledbetter
1st Shift In-Plant Rep. - Tim Johnson
2nd Shift In-Plant Rep. - Jason Baze
Editor - Kaitlin Dillmon
We are the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. We belong to Local Lodge 839 of
District 70 in Wichita Kansas. We represent the Fighting Machinists of Spirit AeroSystems. We work to give our
members a voice on the job. Visit our website often at www.ll839.org for helpful and timely information.
If you have any questions, contact one of your In-Plant Representatives at 524-1090.
If you have any articles you want published, e-mail the Editor at [email protected].
The opinions expressed in any articles are the opinions of that author not the representatives of LL839
All Content © of IAM Local Lodge 839
2005-2015, All Rights Reserved