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Biden is expected to visit the Labor Department on Monday to
formally make the announcement and sign the proclamation that
will establish the monument in Newcastle, Maine, the White House
said.
As labor secretary, Perkins helped President Franklin D.
Roosevelt formulate policies behind the 1930s New Deal and
create safeguards in the national economy following the Great
Depression.
During her 12 years as Roosevelt's labor secretary, she is
credited with helping establish the Social Security Act, the
Fair Labor Standards Act, and the National Labor Relations Act
that established workers' rights to organize and 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,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement.
“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.”
The proclamation calls for the establishment of the national
monument in Newcastle, Maine, where Perkins and her family had
deep roots and where she was buried after her death in 1965. The
monument would be established on her family homestead and
managed by the National Park Service.
Biden is expected to be joined by Haaland, acting Labor
Secretary Julie Su, other Cabinet members as well as labor and
women's right leaders for the signing.
The proclamation announcing the establishment of the monument
comes with just over five weeks left in Biden's presidency and
as he seeks to burnish his legacy as a champion of women and
labor rights.
The White House said Biden in his remarks later Monday will
honor Perkins' legacy. He'll also speak to his record over the
last four years on labor issues.
Haaland toured the Frances Perkins homestead in August and met
with community leaders to discuss the historic site.
Haaland on Monday also announced 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, both 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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