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1880-1965
"I came to Washington to work for God, FDR, and the millions of forgotten, plain common workingmen."  |
Frances Perkins became Secretary of Labor during the Great
Depression when there were 13 million jobless — one quarter of the
workforce. She moved quickly to help create and administer landmark legislation
to lead the Nation out of its economic paralysis, including establishment of
the U.S. Employment Service, a law guaranteeing the right of workers to
organize and bargain collectively, and the establishment of a minimum wage for
the neediest. But most important of all, Frances Perkins directed the
formulation and enactment of the Social Security Act — perhaps the most
important piece of social legislation in U.S. history.
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