National

Biden to establish Frances Perkins National Monument in Maine

Written by ABC Audio ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on December 16, 2024

(NEWCASTLE, MAINE) — President Joe Biden will sign a proclamation on Monday to establish the Frances Perkins National Monument in Newcastle, Maine.

The location will “honor the historic contributions of America’s first woman Cabinet Secretary, the longest-serving Secretary of Labor, and the driving force behind the New Deal,” according to the White House.

Perkins served as labor secretary for 12 years under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

During that time, 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; and established the minimum wage, overtime pay, prohibitions on child labor, and unemployment insurance,” according to the fact sheet.

Perkins also created the Civilian Conservation Corps, a New Deal program that provided conservation and development jobs for manual laborers on government-owned rural land, according to Roosevelt presidential library.

Biden has dubbed himself the most pro-union president in American history. In 2023, he made the historic move of joining auto workers on the picket line.

The Perkins Family Home, built in 1837 and known as the “Brick House,” will be the centerpiece of the new monument, according to the White House.

“Designated a National Historic Landmark in 2014, the Perkins Homestead is a 57-acre property along the Damariscotta River that supported the family for generations,” the White House said. “Visitors experience the same landscape, garden paths and wooded walking trails that were a lifelong source of inspiration and rejuvenation for Perkins.”

In addition to this monument, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland will also announce five other monuments across the nation that will “increase the representation of women’s history in historic sites across America,” according to the White House.