Triangle Waist Company, site of the 1911 fire that killed 146 people, employed 500 workers, mostly young Jewish and Italian immigrant women, who worked 11-14 hours a day on weekdays and 7-10 hours on Saturday. Women earned $6 to $7 per week and men up to $10. During the slow season, although employees worked the same number of hours, the owners deducted $2 a week from their pay. The busy season meant a seven-day week, and workers were told, “If you don’t come in Sunday, don’t come in Monday.” Read more about inhumane labor conditions 100 years ago in Tazia and Gemma (see NOVELS).
