President Joe Biden will sign a proclamation on Monday to create a national monument in honor of Frances Perkins, the first woman to serve as a U.S. Cabinet member as Labor Secretary under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Perkins was a key architect of the New Deal, which helped shape the nation’s response to the Great Depression.
Biden is scheduled to visit the Labor Department on Monday to make the announcement and sign the proclamation, which will establish the monument in Perkins’ hometown of Newcastle, Maine.
As labor secretary, Perkins played a pivotal role in helping Roosevelt develop policies that formed the foundation of the New Deal and provided economic safeguards following the Depression. She was instrumental in the creation of major legislation, including the Social Security Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the National Labor Relations Act, which secured workers’ rights to organize and engage in collective bargaining.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland remarked in a statement that Frances Perkins only accepted the role of the first female Cabinet member after President Franklin D. Roosevelt assured her that he would back her efforts to improve working conditions for everyone. Haaland praised Perkins for her relentless dedication to achieving these goals and noted that her legacy of excellence serves as an inspiration to all who serve in public office today.
Frances Perkins and her family had strong ties to Newcastle, where she was laid to rest after her death in 1965. The new monument will be located on the Perkins family homestead and will be managed by the National Park Service.
President Biden is expected to be joined by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, and other Cabinet members at the signing ceremony. The event will also include leaders from labor and women’s rights organizations.
The proclamation comes with just over five weeks remaining in Biden’s presidency, as he works to strengthen his legacy as a champion for women’s and labor rights.
In August, Haaland visited the Frances Perkins homestead and met with local leaders to discuss the significance of the site.
On Monday, Secretary Deb Haaland announced the designation of five new national historic landmarks that honor women’s history. These include the Charleston Cigar Factory in Charleston, South Carolina; the Furies Collective, Lucy Diggs Slowe and Mary Burrill House in Washington, D.C.; Azurest South in Petersburg, Virginia; and the Peter Hurd and Henriette Wyeth House and Studios in San Patricio, New Mexico.
