Each year, UNITE HERE joins with the Fire Department of New York to commemorate those who died and to rededicate ourselves to the struggle for safety in the workplace.

The 2008 commemoration of the Triangle Fire took place Thursday, March 20 from Noon to 1PM in New York City at the corner of Washington Place & Greene Street - just east of Washington Square Park.

Ceremony:  Labor chorus sang at 11:30am. Fire officer tolled bell, as students and workers read a name and laid a flower for each of the 146 victims, as well as for recent NYC workplace victims. New York City firefighters slowly raised the ladder of their truck to the highest point the firefighters could reach in 1911, which was two floors below where workers were trapped.

Speakers included: Bruce Raynor, General President, UNITE HERE;  Nicholas Scoppeta, Commissioner, FDNY; Randy Weingarten, President, UFT; Christine Quinn, Speaker, NYC Council; William Thompson, NYC Comptroller; Patricia Smith, Commissioner, New York State Department of Labor; Gary La Barbara, President, NYC Central Labor Council; Hector Figueroa, Secretary-Treasurer, SEIU 32BJ, as well as other labor leaders and representatives of the FDNY, and family members of workers who perished in fire.

Last Update: 10 Jun 2008