A strike of 20,000 to 30,000 workers sweeps through the garment
industry in New York.
In September, Triangle is one of the two shops in which a
small group of workers, affiliated with Local 25 of the ILGWU, declares
a strike against the firm. The strike will be short-lived and will lead to
the dismissal of the instigators, but it will mobilize other ILGWU
members into action.
In October, the officers of Local 25 launch the idea of a general
strike in the garment sector.
The agitation spreads. On November 22, at Cooper Union, in front
of thousands of assembled workers, 23-year old Clara Lemlich calls for the
general strike and takes the Jewish oath. The audience
enthusiastically endorses her motion and the so-called "Uprising of the
Twenty-Thousand" begins. It will last 13 weeks and result in a contract
establishing higher wages for 15,000 workers. Triangle, however,
refuses to recognize the unions. Local 25's presence in the factory will
dwindle in the following year.
More information on this general strike is available in Louis
Levine's book The Women's Garment Workers (New York, 1924).
