SUN JOURNAL • September 2, 2024
Frances Perkins was an amazing woman and an amazing leader. She was the first woman to ever serve as a cabinet secretary for a US president. As President Franklin Roosevelt’s secretary of labor for 12 years, she was responsible for the creation of Social Security, which helps people retire with dignity. She helped to create the minimum wage and the 40-hour work week. She led the fight to end child labor, and forced through important workplace safety reform. Her homestead in Newcastle deserves to become a national monument managed by the National Park Service. That’s why the board of directors of the Frances Perkins Center in Newcastle has launched an effort to have the Frances Perkins Homestead National Historic Landmark designated as a national monument. ~ State Sen. Peggy Rotundo