[2B] Bodies / Union Analysis
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From the union perspective one of the great bitternesses of the Triangle Fire was that it could have been prevented if only the Triangle employers had given in to union demands the year before during the Uprising of the 20,000. In this massive strike, the Triangle Shirtwaist Company was one of the few major companies that refused to settle with the union. As a result, worker demands for better working conditions went unheard.
These demands included that there be open and unlocked doors from the workshops to the street, and that functioning fire escapes be installed. It was these same locked doors and lack of adequate fire escapes that would drive some of the workers to jump from the windows to their deaths. "Triangle Fire" shows the bodies of three of these women, as onlookers raise their eyes upwards, probably to the sight of other girls preparing to leap; whilst "Triangle Fire" shows more bodies being taken away by officials.
The third photo is titled "Damaged Fire Escape" but in all likelihood it shows a pavement rather than a fire escape. It is known that the bodies of some girls or groups of girls crashed with enough force to break through the industrial glass pavements and into the basements below.
The bodies of the Triangle Workers, in the streets and in the building, were both a reproach to the employers that the unions battled as well as reminder of how important it was to continue the union struggle.