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President Joe Biden will sign a proclamation on Monday to establish a national monument in honor of Frances Perkins, the nation’s first female Cabinet member and an influential figure behind the New Deal during the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration, the White House announced. As Labor Secretary, Perkins played a central role in shaping policies that safeguarded the U.S. economy during the Great Depression.
Biden is scheduled to visit the Department of Labor to officially announce and sign the proclamation. The monument, to be located in Newcastle, Maine, will commemorate Perkins’ legacy. Newcastle is where her family had longstanding ties and where she was laid to rest after her death in 1965. The site, located on her family homestead, will be managed by the National Park Service.
During her 12-year tenure as labor secretary under Roosevelt, Perkins was instrumental in major legislative accomplishments, including the Social Security Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the National Labor Relations Act, which established workers’ rights to organize and engage in collective bargaining.
“Frances Perkins accepted the position as the first female Cabinet member only after President Franklin D. Roosevelt agreed to support her goals to improve working conditions for all people,” said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. “She worked tirelessly to see them to fruition, and she set a standard of excellence that is a beacon for all of us who serve.”
Biden will be joined at the signing ceremony by Haaland, acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, other Cabinet officials, and prominent labor and women’s rights advocates. During his remarks, Biden is expected to celebrate Perkins’ contributions and highlight his administration’s accomplishments in labor policy over the past four years.
The announcement comes with just over five weeks remaining in Biden’s presidency and adds to his legacy as a supporter of women and labor rights.
Haaland, who visited the Frances Perkins Homestead in August and consulted with local leaders about the site’s historical significance, also announced the designation of five new national historic landmarks recognizing women’s history: the Charleston Cigar Factory in Charleston, South Carolina; The Furies Collective and 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.
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