 frances perkins (born fannie coralie perkins; april 10, 1880 â may 14, 1965) was the u.s.&nbsp;secretary of labor from 1933 to 1945, the longest serving in that position, and the first woman appointed to the u.s.&nbsp;cabinet. as a loyal supporter of her friend, franklin&nbsp;d. roosevelt, she helped pull the labor movement into the new deal coalition. she and interior secretary harold&nbsp;l. ickes were the only original members of the roosevelt cabinet to remain in office for his entire presidency. during her term as secretary of labor, perkins championed many aspects of the new deal, including the civilian conservation corps, the public works administration and its successor the federal works agency, and the labor portion of the national industrial recovery act. with the social security act she established unemployment benefits, pensions for the many uncovered elderly americans, and welfare for the poorest americans. she pushed to reduce workplace accidents and helped craft laws against child labor. through the fair labor standards act, she established the first minimum wage and overtime laws for american workers, and defined the standard forty-hour work week. she formed governmental policy for working with labor unions and helped to al
1880_births 1965_deaths American_Episcopalians Anglican_saints Columbia_University_alumni Cornell_University_faculty Franklin_D._Roosevelt_administration_cabinet_members Mount_Holyoke_College_alumni People_from_Boston,_Massachusetts People_from_Worcester,_Massachusetts State_cabinet_secretaries_of_New_York Truman_Administration_cabinet_members United_States_Secretaries_of_Labor Women_members_of_the_Cabinet_of_the_United_States