Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Victim. According to information on her death certificate, Gussie immigrated to the United States around 1907. By 1911, 22 year old Gussie was a garment worker at the Triangle Waist Company on the 9th floor of the Asch Building in New York City. She earned $12 to $15 per week, most likely as a sewing machine operator. From a photograph published in the March 27, 1911, New York Evening Call (the leading socialist newspaper of the time), she appears as a dignified, matronly woman wearing pince-nez eyeglasses.
The company made women's blouses, known as "waists" or "shirtwaists", and it's workers were mostly recent immigrant German, Italian and European Jewish girls, some as young as 13 years old, although older women and men and young boys were also represented. Their working conditions were far from safe. They worked 14 hour shifts among heaps of flammable bolts of fabric, scraps of which piled up on the floor around them; tissue paper patterns hung from racks above their worktables. The workrooms were lit by open flame gas lamps and the cutters, mostly men, were allowed to smoke as they worked. Although many of the workers had joined the fledgling International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, the Triangle Company refused to sign any agreement and was under no obligation to abide by established union safety rules.
On March 25, 1911, around 4:30pm, fire broke out on the 8th floor. Most on that floor and the executives on the 10th floor were able to escape, but workers on the 9th floor, who had not been alerted to the fire, found themselves trapped. Of the four 9th floor exits, the elevator was commandeered by 8th floor workers and then stopped working altogether, one stairwell door was soon blocked by fire and smoke, the other stairwell door had been locked (although denied by the owners in the trial held after, it was a common practice to lock factory workers in to prevent them from stealing) and the only fire escape proved too flimsy and collapsed under the weight of the escaping workers. Many died from being overcome by the smoke and flames quickly filling the building, but 62 of the workers realized there were no other means of escape and jumped from the windows to the pavement 9 stories below. Or worse, they were pushed toward the open windows by the panicked crowd and had no choice. Although the fire department responded quickly, the water from their hoses would not reach the top floors and ladders of the time were unable to reach above the 6th floor. By the time the fire was extinguished, 141 people had lost their lives. In the next few days, 5 more would die from their injuries.
From her documented injuries and cause of death, Gussie was overcome by the smoke and flames and never escaped the burning building. She can be identified as Case #5 in the Union Joint Relief Committee Report: "G. B. 22 years old, was a union member, killed. Father has prosperous candy store; brother, machinist, earns $18.00 a week; T. Milliner, earns $9.00 a week, no other children in family. Family asked for tombstone only; $100.00 paid as death benefit." Her body was identified in the early morning hours of March 26 by Annie Brotsky, whose relationship to Gussie is unknown. In early newspaper reports of the fire victims she is sometimes listed as "Gertie" and "Bireman".
A public mention of Gussie comes from Leon Stein's book, "The Triangle Fire". After her body was identified and returned to the family, he writes, "Mr. and Mrs. Morris Bierman…complained that the body…had been stripped of three rings, a watch and chain, and earrings. Gussie kept her cash in her shoe and one shoe was missing. The family insisted that the loss was no accident. Gussie's rings had fitted tightly on her fingers; she habitually wrapped the chain of the pendant watch twice around her neck. The remaining shoe was proof, they said, that the missing one must have been removed by force."
The public outrage and subsequent acquittal of the company's owners following the tragedy paved the way for a flood of legislation to improve factory safety standards, led to the founding of The American Society of Safety Engineers and hastened the growth and clout of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. A bystander who witnessed the young girls jumping from the windows was inspired to a life of public service fighting for the rights of factory workers; Frances Perkins went on to become the first woman appointed to a Presidential Cabinet position as Franklin Roosevelt's Secretary of Labor. The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire was the single worst workplace disaster in New York City until the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001.
The company made women's blouses, known as "waists" or "shirtwaists", and it's workers were mostly recent immigrant German, Italian and European Jewish girls, some as young as 13 years old, although older women and men and young boys were also represented. Their working conditions were far from safe. They worked 14 hour shifts among heaps of flammable bolts of fabric, scraps of which piled up on the floor around them; tissue paper patterns hung from racks above their worktables. The workrooms were lit by open flame gas lamps and the cutters, mostly men, were allowed to smoke as they worked. Although many of the workers had joined the fledgling International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, the Triangle Company refused to sign any agreement and was under no obligation to abide by established union safety rules.
On March 25, 1911, around 4:30pm, fire broke out on the 8th floor. Most on that floor and the executives on the 10th floor were able to escape, but workers on the 9th floor, who had not been alerted to the fire, found themselves trapped. Of the four 9th floor exits, the elevator was commandeered by 8th floor workers and then stopped working altogether, one stairwell door was soon blocked by fire and smoke, the other stairwell door had been locked (although denied by the owners in the trial held after, it was a common practice to lock factory workers in to prevent them from stealing) and the only fire escape proved too flimsy and collapsed under the weight of the escaping workers. Many died from being overcome by the smoke and flames quickly filling the building, but 62 of the workers realized there were no other means of escape and jumped from the windows to the pavement 9 stories below. Or worse, they were pushed toward the open windows by the panicked crowd and had no choice. Although the fire department responded quickly, the water from their hoses would not reach the top floors and ladders of the time were unable to reach above the 6th floor. By the time the fire was extinguished, 141 people had lost their lives. In the next few days, 5 more would die from their injuries.
From her documented injuries and cause of death, Gussie was overcome by the smoke and flames and never escaped the burning building. She can be identified as Case #5 in the Union Joint Relief Committee Report: "G. B. 22 years old, was a union member, killed. Father has prosperous candy store; brother, machinist, earns $18.00 a week; T. Milliner, earns $9.00 a week, no other children in family. Family asked for tombstone only; $100.00 paid as death benefit." Her body was identified in the early morning hours of March 26 by Annie Brotsky, whose relationship to Gussie is unknown. In early newspaper reports of the fire victims she is sometimes listed as "Gertie" and "Bireman".
A public mention of Gussie comes from Leon Stein's book, "The Triangle Fire". After her body was identified and returned to the family, he writes, "Mr. and Mrs. Morris Bierman…complained that the body…had been stripped of three rings, a watch and chain, and earrings. Gussie kept her cash in her shoe and one shoe was missing. The family insisted that the loss was no accident. Gussie's rings had fitted tightly on her fingers; she habitually wrapped the chain of the pendant watch twice around her neck. The remaining shoe was proof, they said, that the missing one must have been removed by force."
The public outrage and subsequent acquittal of the company's owners following the tragedy paved the way for a flood of legislation to improve factory safety standards, led to the founding of The American Society of Safety Engineers and hastened the growth and clout of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. A bystander who witnessed the young girls jumping from the windows was inspired to a life of public service fighting for the rights of factory workers; Frances Perkins went on to become the first woman appointed to a Presidential Cabinet position as Franklin Roosevelt's Secretary of Labor. The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire was the single worst workplace disaster in New York City until the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001.
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Victim. According to information on her death certificate, Gussie immigrated to the United States around 1907. By 1911, 22 year old Gussie was a garment worker at the Triangle Waist Company on the 9th floor of the Asch Building in New York City. She earned $12 to $15 per week, most likely as a sewing machine operator. From a photograph published in the March 27, 1911, New York Evening Call (the leading socialist newspaper of the time), she appears as a dignified, matronly woman wearing pince-nez eyeglasses.
The company made women's blouses, known as "waists" or "shirtwaists", and it's workers were mostly recent immigrant German, Italian and European Jewish girls, some as young as 13 years old, although older women and men and young boys were also represented. Their working conditions were far from safe. They worked 14 hour shifts among heaps of flammable bolts of fabric, scraps of which piled up on the floor around them; tissue paper patterns hung from racks above their worktables. The workrooms were lit by open flame gas lamps and the cutters, mostly men, were allowed to smoke as they worked. Although many of the workers had joined the fledgling International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, the Triangle Company refused to sign any agreement and was under no obligation to abide by established union safety rules.
On March 25, 1911, around 4:30pm, fire broke out on the 8th floor. Most on that floor and the executives on the 10th floor were able to escape, but workers on the 9th floor, who had not been alerted to the fire, found themselves trapped. Of the four 9th floor exits, the elevator was commandeered by 8th floor workers and then stopped working altogether, one stairwell door was soon blocked by fire and smoke, the other stairwell door had been locked (although denied by the owners in the trial held after, it was a common practice to lock factory workers in to prevent them from stealing) and the only fire escape proved too flimsy and collapsed under the weight of the escaping workers. Many died from being overcome by the smoke and flames quickly filling the building, but 62 of the workers realized there were no other means of escape and jumped from the windows to the pavement 9 stories below. Or worse, they were pushed toward the open windows by the panicked crowd and had no choice. Although the fire department responded quickly, the water from their hoses would not reach the top floors and ladders of the time were unable to reach above the 6th floor. By the time the fire was extinguished, 141 people had lost their lives. In the next few days, 5 more would die from their injuries.
From her documented injuries and cause of death, Gussie was overcome by the smoke and flames and never escaped the burning building. She can be identified as Case #5 in the Union Joint Relief Committee Report: "G. B. 22 years old, was a union member, killed. Father has prosperous candy store; brother, machinist, earns $18.00 a week; T. Milliner, earns $9.00 a week, no other children in family. Family asked for tombstone only; $100.00 paid as death benefit." Her body was identified in the early morning hours of March 26 by Annie Brotsky, whose relationship to Gussie is unknown. In early newspaper reports of the fire victims she is sometimes listed as "Gertie" and "Bireman".
A public mention of Gussie comes from Leon Stein's book, "The Triangle Fire". After her body was identified and returned to the family, he writes, "Mr. and Mrs. Morris Bierman…complained that the body…had been stripped of three rings, a watch and chain, and earrings. Gussie kept her cash in her shoe and one shoe was missing. The family insisted that the loss was no accident. Gussie's rings had fitted tightly on her fingers; she habitually wrapped the chain of the pendant watch twice around her neck. The remaining shoe was proof, they said, that the missing one must have been removed by force."
The public outrage and subsequent acquittal of the company's owners following the tragedy paved the way for a flood of legislation to improve factory safety standards, led to the founding of The American Society of Safety Engineers and hastened the growth and clout of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. A bystander who witnessed the young girls jumping from the windows was inspired to a life of public service fighting for the rights of factory workers; Frances Perkins went on to become the first woman appointed to a Presidential Cabinet position as Franklin Roosevelt's Secretary of Labor. The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire was the single worst workplace disaster in New York City until the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001.
The company made women's blouses, known as "waists" or "shirtwaists", and it's workers were mostly recent immigrant German, Italian and European Jewish girls, some as young as 13 years old, although older women and men and young boys were also represented. Their working conditions were far from safe. They worked 14 hour shifts among heaps of flammable bolts of fabric, scraps of which piled up on the floor around them; tissue paper patterns hung from racks above their worktables. The workrooms were lit by open flame gas lamps and the cutters, mostly men, were allowed to smoke as they worked. Although many of the workers had joined the fledgling International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, the Triangle Company refused to sign any agreement and was under no obligation to abide by established union safety rules.
On March 25, 1911, around 4:30pm, fire broke out on the 8th floor. Most on that floor and the executives on the 10th floor were able to escape, but workers on the 9th floor, who had not been alerted to the fire, found themselves trapped. Of the four 9th floor exits, the elevator was commandeered by 8th floor workers and then stopped working altogether, one stairwell door was soon blocked by fire and smoke, the other stairwell door had been locked (although denied by the owners in the trial held after, it was a common practice to lock factory workers in to prevent them from stealing) and the only fire escape proved too flimsy and collapsed under the weight of the escaping workers. Many died from being overcome by the smoke and flames quickly filling the building, but 62 of the workers realized there were no other means of escape and jumped from the windows to the pavement 9 stories below. Or worse, they were pushed toward the open windows by the panicked crowd and had no choice. Although the fire department responded quickly, the water from their hoses would not reach the top floors and ladders of the time were unable to reach above the 6th floor. By the time the fire was extinguished, 141 people had lost their lives. In the next few days, 5 more would die from their injuries.
From her documented injuries and cause of death, Gussie was overcome by the smoke and flames and never escaped the burning building. She can be identified as Case #5 in the Union Joint Relief Committee Report: "G. B. 22 years old, was a union member, killed. Father has prosperous candy store; brother, machinist, earns $18.00 a week; T. Milliner, earns $9.00 a week, no other children in family. Family asked for tombstone only; $100.00 paid as death benefit." Her body was identified in the early morning hours of March 26 by Annie Brotsky, whose relationship to Gussie is unknown. In early newspaper reports of the fire victims she is sometimes listed as "Gertie" and "Bireman".
A public mention of Gussie comes from Leon Stein's book, "The Triangle Fire". After her body was identified and returned to the family, he writes, "Mr. and Mrs. Morris Bierman…complained that the body…had been stripped of three rings, a watch and chain, and earrings. Gussie kept her cash in her shoe and one shoe was missing. The family insisted that the loss was no accident. Gussie's rings had fitted tightly on her fingers; she habitually wrapped the chain of the pendant watch twice around her neck. The remaining shoe was proof, they said, that the missing one must have been removed by force."
The public outrage and subsequent acquittal of the company's owners following the tragedy paved the way for a flood of legislation to improve factory safety standards, led to the founding of The American Society of Safety Engineers and hastened the growth and clout of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. A bystander who witnessed the young girls jumping from the windows was inspired to a life of public service fighting for the rights of factory workers; Frances Perkins went on to become the first woman appointed to a Presidential Cabinet position as Franklin Roosevelt's Secretary of Labor. The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire was the single worst workplace disaster in New York City until the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001.
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