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1880: Frances Perkins was born in Boston to a middle class Republican family who encouraged her to do “God’s work” by helping others
1880: Frances Perkins was born in Boston to a middle class Republican family who encouraged her to do “God’s work” by helping others
1898-1902: Attended and graduated from Mount Holyoke College, where she studied natural sciences
1902-1909: Worked as a teacher and volunteered her time at settlement houses in Chicago (one being Hull House), where she learned of inhumane working conditions for workers, and developed a passion to lobby for workers’ rights.

1909-1911: Earned a Master of Arts degree in economics and sociology from Columbia University.
1909-1911: Earned a Master of Arts degree in economics and sociology from Columbia University.
1910-1912: Served as secretary of the New York Consumers’ League. During this time she also worked closely with Florence Kelley on community organizing efforts on behalf of the women in the workforce. She successfully negotiated the New York State legislature for a bill that protected women from being taken advantage of by employers who forced them to work long hours. She lead and participated in many community organizing efforts such as rallies, suffrage parades and delivering inspirational speeches to women about their rights as workers.

1911: A pivotal moment in the career of Frances Perkins
1911: A pivotal moment in the career of Frances Perkins
occurred when she witnessed female workersjumping to their
death from a tenement building that was on fire, to avoid the
flames. This incident deeply affected her, and prompted her to
dedicate her life’s work to improving worker conditions. This
incident is known as the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire.

Click on the link below to listen to a lecture on the Triangle
Shirtwaist Fire, by Frances Perkins, in 1964 while teaching at
Cornell University:
http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire/primary/lectures/FrancesPerkinsLecture.html

1918: New York Governor Al Smith invited her to join the New York State Industrial Commission.
1918: New York Governor Al Smith invited her to join the New York State Industrial Commission.
1926: Appointed Chairwoman of the New York State Industrial Commission
1929: New York State Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt appointed her Industrial Commissioner of New York State, which made her the highest ranking official in the labor department.

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1939: The House Un-American Activities, an arm of the US House of Representatives charged with locating and prosecuting Communists, attempted to impeach her from her post of Labor Secretary of New York State.
1939: The House Un-American Activities, an arm of the US House of Representatives charged with locating and prosecuting Communists, attempted to impeach her from her post of Labor Secretary of New York State.

1945: Resigned as Labor Secretary of New York State after accepting a position to lead the United States Delegation to the International Labor Organization conference in Paris, France.
1945: Resigned as Labor Secretary of New York State after accepting a position to lead the United States Delegation to the International Labor Organization conference in Paris, France.
1946 : President Harry Truman appointed her a member of the Civil Service Commission

1953-1965: Worked as a professor at Cornell University’s School of Industrial & Labor Relations.
1953-1965: Worked as a professor at Cornell University’s School of Industrial & Labor Relations.
1965: Died in New York at the age of 85, leaving behind a legacy of advocacy for workers’ rights.

*She fought for the rights of women and children in the workforce, negotiating for them a maximum 54-hour workweek.
*She fought for the rights of women and children in the workforce, negotiating for them a maximum 54-hour workweek.
*As the first female member of the New York State Industrial Commission, she worked with political entities to enact reform in the workplace by establishing minimum wage.
*Lobbied for the Wagner Act, which enabled workers to establish unions and negotiate their own rights as a group.

*Lobbied for the Fair Labor Standards Act, which required employers to pay workers a set minimum wage.
*Lobbied for the Fair Labor Standards Act, which required employers to pay workers a set minimum wage.
*Chaired the Committee on Economic Security, and lead them to plan for and later establish what became the Social Security Act in 1935.
*Advised President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on how to resolve the 1934 San Francisco Strike without the use of federal troops.

*As one of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s expert labor consultants, Frances Perkins was an integral part of the creation of: Civilian Conservation Corps, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, the National Labor Relations Act, the Social Security Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act.
*As one of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s expert labor consultants, Frances Perkins was an integral part of the creation of: Civilian Conservation Corps, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, the National Labor Relations Act, the Social Security Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

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*Upon condition of her acceptance of the position of Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins told New York Governor that she wanted to accomplish four goals: minimum wages, maximum hours, unemployment insurance and retirement insurance.
*Upon condition of her acceptance of the position of Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins told New York Governor that she wanted to accomplish four goals: minimum wages, maximum hours, unemployment insurance and retirement insurance.

“Most of man’s problems upon this planet, in the long history of the race, have been met and solved either partially or as a whole by experiment based on common sense and carried out with courage.”
“Most of man’s problems upon this planet, in the long history of the race, have been met and solved either partially or as a whole by experiment based on common sense and carried out with courage.”
“Being a woman has only bothered me in climbing trees.”

“The door might not be opened to a woman again for a long, long time, and I had a kind of duty to other women to walk in and sit down on the chair that I was offered, and so establish the right of others long hence and far distant in geography to sit in the high seats.”
“The door might not be opened to a woman again for a long, long time, and I had a kind of duty to other women to walk in and sit down on the chair that I was offered, and so establish the right of others long hence and far distant in geography to sit in the high seats.”
“In America, public opinion is the leader.”

“To one who believes that really good industrial conditions are the hope for a machine civilization, nothing is more heartening than to watch conference methods and education replacing police methods.”
“To one who believes that really good industrial conditions are the hope for a machine civilization, nothing is more heartening than to watch conference methods and education replacing police methods.”
“But with the slow menace of a glacier, depression came on. No one had any measure of its progress; no one had any plan of stopping it. Everyone tried to get out of its way.”

Click on the link below, to view a clip of Frances Perkins in action as Secretary of Labor of New York State.
Click on the link below, to view a clip of Frances Perkins in action as Secretary of Labor of New York State.
http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=50517

The work of Frances Perkins influenced me in the following ways:
The work of Frances Perkins influenced me in the following ways:
My status as an employee in the United States.
The work I will do with clients as a social worker, and my ability to help them most efficiently.
My status as a female in the professional realm.