Washington — A proclamation signed by President Joe Biden on Dec. 16 establishes a national monument for former Labor Secretary Frances Perkins.
Perkins, the first female cabinet secretary in U.S. history, served from 1933 to 1945 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt and remains the longest-serving labor secretary. She died in 1965 at age 85.
A White House press release detailing Perkins’ most notable accomplishments states that she “envisioned and helped create Social Security; helped millions of Americans get back to work during the Great Depression; fought for the right of workers to organize and bargain collectively; and established the minimum wage, overtime pay, prohibitions on child labor and unemployment insurance.”
The Department of Labor’s headquarters is named after Perkins. The Frances Perkins Homestead National Historic Landmark is in Newcastle, ME.
