Max Blanck and Isaac Harris, the Shirtwaist Kings, owned the Company. It employed 600 people and was the major blouse-making business in New York completing 2000 garments per day.
4 They owned many factories but the Triangle Company was their main business. They made routine rounds through the factory keeping a watchful eye over the employees. They never spoke to a worker even though they themselves had started out in almost the exact same way. Both came to America in the late 1860s from Russia, along with a lot of other subjugated Jews. The Jews of Russia under the czar were limited to certain jobs, one of which was a tailor. Blanck and Harris, along with half of the Jewish immigrant workers, joined the garment industry during the sweatshop years. The clothing industry employed the most immigrants of any other New York business. They worked in poorly lit, small tenement rooms for long hours and little pay. In the late 1800s almost no clothing was actually made by the 'manufacturers' but by the sweatshop owners to whom the manufactures leased their work. This saved them from dealing with the workers. Besides the low pay and poor work conditions, the threat of tuberculosis was always near. Some lucky workers, like Blanck and Harris became shop owners themselves and saw the garment industry change into large factories with electric machines.
5
The shirt waist was a class-crossing garment. It was the alternative to corsets and hoop skirts, which left little room to do any practical physical activity. The skirts ended just above the ankle so the bottom remained clean and women could go through streets with out fear of tripping or ruining their clothing. The fact that women needed this kind of clothing was an undeniable sign that they were entering the work force.
6
This is why Blanck and Harris chose it to be their main garment. Their shop was located on the intersection of Green St. and Washington Place, in the building it took up the eighth, ninth, and tenth floor. They crowded in the workers but the city authorities and corrupt police force paid little attention to the crowding violations. The factory combined cutting, sewing, and shipping thus cutting back on time and expenses. The bringing together of the work also brought together the workers, this left the company wide open to labor strife and unions. Owners of large companies had a few ways to avoid strikes. The inside contractor system mirrored the sweatshop system in that the contractor decided how much to pay the worker, thus being the middle man between the workers and owners. There was also a union created by the owners, the Triangle Employees Benevolent Association, but all its officers were relatives of the bosses. In late 1909 150 employees went to a meeting for a women's union. The owners sent spies to the meeting, and the next day the unionists refused to back down when confronted. The day after that, workers found themselves locked out of the company, and decided to strike.7
