Life in the early 1900s wasn't easy. Competition for jobs was at an all-time high, especially in New York City. Immigrants were flocking in and needed to find work quickly, even if that meant in the hot, overcrowded conditions of garment factories. Conditions were horrible and disaster was inevitable, and disaster struck in March 1911. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York set fire, killing 146 workers. This is an important event in U.S. history because it helped accomplish the tasks that unions and strikes had tried to accomplish years before, improved working conditions in factories nationwide, and established new safety laws and regulations so that nothing so catastrophic would happen again. Workplace fights became public after this fire and the job industry would never remain the same. In the late 1800s society was changing. Women and children entered the workforce and competition was very high for jobs. Even though more women were working during this period than ever before, companies still preferred men for most authority jobs or for higher salaries. It was impossible for women and children to earn as much as males. Additionally, African Americans faced challenges when searching for jobs. This ethnicity was often stuck in unskilled labor tasks, and women of this race had extremely limited job options, commonly maids and laundresses. African Americans living in the North actually achieved better social and economic positions than those living in the South. The main discriminating factor in this period was white-collar work versus blue-collar work. White collar jobs would consist of higher class citizens who would earn higher pay and often have more education. By comparison, blue collar jobs could be obtained by almost...... half of the paper ......ert. Flesh and blood so cheap: the fire of the Triangle and its legacy. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011. Print."Arguments for Work." America at Work/America at Leisure, 1894-1915. Library of Congress: American Memory, n.d. Web. April 27, 2014. “The Triangle Fire of 1911.” The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of 1911. California State University, Northridge, n.d. Web. April 30, 2014. “The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Trial.” The trial by fire of the triangle. University of Missouri-Kansas City, n.d. Web. April 30, 2014. “Rise of the 20,000.” The fire of the triangle: one hundred years later. Work Arts and Web. 27 April. 2014. .