“The Woman Behind the New Deal” by Kirstin Downey. The Paperback Edition costs $16.95, Anchor Books and is the Excellent Read on the LIfe of Labor Secretary Frances Perkins – A MUST Read for Anyone Interested in Her Life and Times.

Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins was the First Woman to be a Member of the President’s Cabinet – From 1933 – to 1945.  She is Credited with Establishing Social Security and Other Worker’s Rights – Which Many Republicans Want to End.

This afternoon President Joe Biden will designate the ancestral homestead of Secretary Frances Perkins, 478 River Road, Newcastle, a national monument when he signs a proclamation establishing the Frances Perkins National Monument.

The announcement is expected to come around 1:00 pm at the Department of Labor in Washington, DC. This designation will allow  many across the country to  know of the work of Secretary Perkins as the first women to be a member of a Presidential cabinet and the mother of the modern labor movement as she is often referred to.  She served in the cabinet of President Franklin Roosevelt from 1933 – 1945 and was the nation’s fourth Secretary of Labor.

This fall Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) led a coalition of 42 other members of Congress in writing a letter to the President supporting the nomination of Secretary Perkins’ ancestral home to be a national monument.  That letter described her in part as the “primary advocte for social justice, economic security and labor rights” as a member of Roosevelt’s cabinet.

Today, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) joined President Biden and Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, to announce that the Frances Perkins Homestead in Newcastle has been granted National Monument status.  ‘With the designation of the Frances Perkins National Monument at her family homestead in Maine, President Biden has ensured her story will inspire  generations to come. This decision honors Maine’s rich history and ensures that the values Secretary Perkins championed.- fairness, dignity and opportuity – remain cornerstones of our national identity.”

Born in Masssachusetts in 1880, she attended Mount Holyoke College with a definite scientific interest   But after observing the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in Manhattan in 1911, she changed her career choice.  That eventually led her to President Roosevelt’s cabinet.  Later in life, she made her father’s 57 acre ancestrial home on the River Road, Newcastle, as her respite from the demands of her professional and personal life.  It is her grandson Tomlin Perkins Coggeshell who once lived at the homestead on the banks of the Damariscotta River who has been the driving force to see that his grandmother be recognized for her contributions to the current labor movement.  She died in May of 1965.

Secretary Perkins has been recognized as the leading architect behind the New Deal as a cabinet member.  She 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, established the 40 hour work week and established the minimum wage overtime pay and established prohibitions on child labor and unemployment insurance.

This designation of the Secretary Perkins homestead in Newcastle is part of President Biden’s 2024 Executive Order to strengthen the recognition of women’s history.  This is the fourth national monument that President Biden has designated during his presidency.

So far, AWOL Susan Collins (R-Maine) has had no comment on the establishment of the Homestead of Secretary Perkins as a national monumet.  Perhaps that is becaise she is anti-worker following her mentor Trump. This is demonstrated by  her vote against a pro-labor member of the National Labor Relations Board.  Apparently her press chief Annie Clark forgot to send out a press release on that NLRB vote!  For more information on that vote, please visit post herein dated December 12, 2024.

This blogger has written extensively over the years about the Perkins Homestead in Newcastle  For more information, pleae read the most recent posts:  August 25, 2024 and June 22, 2024.