While the Triangle fire became a powerful symbol of unsafe labor practices, the struggle for better working conditions began much earlier, with the beginnings of the Local 25 of the ILGWU, the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, when spirited individuals like Clara Lemlich, an independent Jewish immigrant, stood up at a union meeting when she had heard enough talk and called for action.

Born in a small Ukrainian village where Jews were not permitted to attend school, Lemlich disregarded her parents' objections and learned to read Russian and became "familiar with revolutionary literature that declared the rights of workers, even women workers." When her family immigrated to New York, she became a shirtwaist girl, studying at the public library after elevenhour work days to become a doctor. Dash focuses on the life histories of key individuals like Lemlich who fought for social change either out...