Out of the Smoke and Flame: The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and Its Legacy March 23, 2011

March 25, 2011 will mark the one-hundredth anniversary of one of the most important events in the history of the U.S. labor movement, the Triangle Fire, the largest industrial tragedy in the history of New York City. If Triangle is an old story, one about a century ago, it is also a very current story. The problem of how to regulate the workplace and create a safe, decent life for working people is with us today. This conference will gather unionists, public officials, scholars, and students for a day of reflection and debate on a wide range of issues that reflect the complexity and importance of the fire’s legacy. Participants include, amongst many others, Francis Fox Piven (The Graduate Center, CUNY); Steve Fraser (New Labor Forum, Murphy Institute, CUNY); Sarita Gupta (National Executive Director, Jobs with Justice); Alice-Kessler Harris (Columbia University); David Michaels (Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA); Bruce Raynor (President, Workers United, SEIU); and Andrew Ross (New York University). For a detailed schedule, see http://trianglefireconference.org