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The tragic Triangle shirtwaist factory fire that killed 146 young women and girls 100 years ago this Friday paved the way for unions including the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union to organize workers in record numbers. The fire also engaged women in politics in a way that was unprecedented and moved New York officials to put new workplace safety laws in place.

VIDEO. Former New York State Senator Serf Maltese said his grandmother and her two daughters -- ages 14 and 18 -- were among the 146 who died in the fast-moving blaze that engulfed the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory and became a national tragedy. The 100-year anniversary of the fire is on March 25.

March 25 marks the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, New York's landmark industrial disaster that killed 146 of the factory's employees — most of them young immigrant women and girls of Italian and European Jewish descent. The tragedy sparked nationwide debate on workers' rights, representation and safety.