Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Memorial is seeking scholarship applications from college students who have been impacted by the workplace injury of a parent ahead of its annual award ceremony in January.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911 marked one of the nation’s most deadly industrial disasters that served as a catalyst for many workplace safety regulations as they now exist in the U.S.
Commemorating this turning point for organized labor has become an annual tradition in New York City. As a tribute, a group of workers’ compensation attorneys have provided academic scholarships since 2002 to the children of workers who were killed or permanently disabled on the job.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Memorial offers scholarships of $6,000 per academic year, or $3,000 per semester, to college students if a parent was either killed or found to be permanently disabled because of a workplace injury for which state workers’ compensation benefits were awarded.
The scholarship fund was created in memory of the 146 workers who died in the horrific fire. By the time the workers on the ninth floor of the factory building discovered there was a fire, flames and a locked stairway prevented them from escaping. Activism in the wake of the disaster fire led to many of the safety and health protections that workers have today, including wage and hour laws, fire safety codes, elevator codes and the Workers’ Compensation Law.
The Triangle Memorial scholarship fund seeks to continue and expand on this legacy in connection to the Workers’ Compensation Law.
The group will hold its 20th annual Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Memorial scholarship event on Jan. 23, 2025 at the New York City Bar Association, 42 West 44th St. in Manhattan. This annual event honors labor, legal, political and academic leaders in the field of worker safety in addition to an award ceremony for the scholars.
Triangle Memorial Class of 2025 honorees include New York Assembly Labor Chair Harry Bronson, SEIU Local 1199 Secretary-Treasurer Milly Silva and longtime mental health advocate Dr. Howard Rombom.
For more information about the memorial, visit trianglememorial.org/. The group encourages applications from eligible students.
