The WTUL was also active in demanding safe working conditions , both before and after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911 in which 146 workers were killed . That fire , which had been preceded by a similar fire in Newark , New Jersey in which twenty-five garment workers were killed , not only galvanized public opinion on the subject , but also exposed the fissures between the League 's well-heeled supporters and its working class militants , such as Rose Schneiderman . As Schneiderman said in her speech at the memorial meeting held in the Metropolitan Opera House on April 2 , 1911 :
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire
Women's Trade Union League