The Triangle Fire Read Online Free

factory owners, they will simply close down and move somewhere else in America—and then where will we find jobs for all of these poor immigrants? Political corruption, of course, also accompanies the retreat from principle, then and now. It is fair to say, I think, that contemporary politicians in America (and indeed many ordinary American citizens) have accepted the same passive response to economic injustices. Important people who have the power to correct the abuses are once again looking the other way.
    The trouble is, the passivity of government and the public simply leads further down a low road. More injustices appear, and they, too, must be tolerated in the name of commerce. As history demonstrates, this human degradation will continue, here and abroad, until people rouse themselves to stop it. In a global system, poorer nations (even China if it wished) cannot halt exploitation on their own. The factories do leave one nation for another with lower standards, and there is an endless food chain of very poor countries waiting for jobs on any terms. The process will not change until international laws build a floor of reasonable standards for business performance.
    This is why the global system needs new and reformed trade and investment agreements that penalize both the multinational companies and the trading nations that choose inhumane production methods to gain a competitive advantage over rivals. The economic incentives to take the low road also explain why protecting labor rights is so important for achieving genuine progress. If workers have the freedom to speak for themselves—to organize a collective voice and demand respect and a living wage—they can become a bulwark not only for advancing the society’s values and self-respect but also for raising its general standard of living. As we know from history, none of these achievements comes easily or without great effort from conscientious citizens.
    In my travels, I met some of the young workers in the globalized production system, usually away from the factories in places where they could talk more honestly about their hopes and fears, ambitions and disappointments. From Indonesia and Malaysia to China and Mexico and the other countries, I always came away enthralled by their innocent struggles but also in awe of their elemental bravery. The young women and men, it is true, are often bewildered by their new circumstances as industrial workers in the complex global system. They are nevertheless trying to understand their situation. Of course, they are glad to have jobs with wage incomes, since most have migrated from poverty in rural backwaters. And, like the girls at Triangle, they are excited by their new surroundings in or near booming cities. They, too, faithfully send home money to help their impoverished families.
    Yet these young workers are also rebelling against the scant pay they receive and the abusive conditions in the factories. Many of the workers I interviewed did not know what a labor union was, and some said their factory had a “union” that was organized and run by the factory managers. Yet, despite their weak position, these workers strike anyway—wildcat strikes that originate from their own angry demands for justice, much like the uprising of the garment workers in New York a century before. This is an essential point to understand about the realities of the global system. Young people in developing nations are leading thousands of such worker-led strikes, without any guidance from an organized union or other outsiders. They occur because these young people know they are being exploited (though they seldom use that word to describe their conditions). The next time you hear an economist or other experts explain that sweatshops are actually good for the poor people of the world and that any criticism of their working conditions endangers their jobs, ask about the strikes. If the workers are so grateful and happy with their situation,