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63-670: The venue was created through a joint venture between the City of San Jose, Public Works Administration and local property owners Mr. and Mrs. T. S. Montgomery, who donated the property. The building was designed by Binder & Curtis, in the Spanish Colonial / California Mission Revival style. The venue's naming rights were given to City National Bank in December 2013, with its original name being restored in May 2019. The west wing

126-466: A bachelor of arts degree. There are approximately 140 Frances Perkins scholars each year. A plaque honoring Perkins was dedicated at Boston's Logan Airport. A mural depicting Perkins was displayed in the Maine Department of Labor headquarters, the native state of her parents. On March 23, 2011, Maine's Republican governor, Paul LePage , ordered the mural removed. A spokesperson for

189-638: A concert there that was attended by Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters who electrified a party afterward reportedly attended by Stones members. Richard Nixon made national headlines during an anti-war demonstration at the San Jose Civic. It has presented major sporting events including boxing matches with champions such as Jack Dempsey and Joe Louis . The Civic hosted the final day of the GENESIS 3 Super Smash Bros. tournament in January 2016. It

252-753: A consequence of this fire, Perkins left her position at the New York office of the National Consumers League and, on the recommendation of Theodore Roosevelt , became the executive secretary for the Committee on Safety of the City of New York, formed to improve fire safety. As part of the Committee on Safety, Perkins investigated another significant fire at the Freeman plant in Binghamton, New York , in which 63 people died. In 1912, she

315-491: A feast day on 13 May. Perkins is a minor character in the 1977 Broadway musical Annie , in which she, alongside Harold Ickes, is ordered by Roosevelt to sing along to the song Tomorrow with the title character. It is during this scene in the show that Roosevelt's cabinet comes up with the idea of the New Deal. In the 1987 American movie Dirty Dancing , the lead character Frances "Baby" Houseman reveals that she

378-562: A historical marker honoring Perkins was dedicated in Homestead, Pennsylvania , at the southwest corner of 9th and Amity. On October 30, 2024, a plaque honoring Perkins was unveiled at 121 Washington Place in Greenwich Village , where Perkins once lived. Perkins remains a prominent alumna of Mount Holyoke College , whose Frances Perkins Program allows "women of non-traditional age" (i.e., age 24 or older) to complete

441-614: A long list of labor programs for which she would fight, from Social Security to minimum wage. "Nothing like this has ever been done in the United States before," she told Roosevelt. "You know that, don’t you?" Agreeing to back her, Roosevelt nominated Perkins as Secretary of Labor . The nomination was met with support from the National League of Women Voters and the Women's Party. The American Federation of Labor criticized

504-728: A memoir of her time in the Roosevelt administration entitled, The Roosevelt I Knew (1946, ISBN   9780143106418 ), which covered her personal history with Franklin Roosevelt, starting from their meeting in 1910. Following her government service career, Perkins remained active and returned to educational positions at colleges and universities. She was a teacher and lecturer at the New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University until her death in 1965, at age 85. She also gave guest lectures at other universities, including two 15-lecture series at

567-540: A policy for social security in 1935. She also helped form government policy for working with labor unions , although some union leaders distrusted her. Perkins' Labor Department helped to mediate strikes by way of the United States Conciliation Service . She dealt with numerous labor issues during World War II , when skilled labor was vital to the economy and women were moving into jobs formerly held by men. Fannie Coralie Perkins

630-547: A speech at the International Labour Organization in which she called on the organization to make its contribution to the world economic recovery, while avoiding being dragged into political problems. She also defended the participation of the United States in the ILO, which it had joined in 1934 . In 1939, she came under fire from some members of Congress for refusing to deport the communist head of

693-657: A variety of teaching positions, including one from 1904 to 1906 where she taught chemistry at Ferry Hall School (now Lake Forest Academy ), an all-girls school in Lake Forest, Illinois . In Chicago, she volunteered at settlement houses , including Hull House , where she worked with Jane Addams . She changed her name from Fannie to Frances when she joined the Episcopal church in 1905. In 1907, she moved to Philadelphia and enrolled at University of Pennsylvania 's Wharton School to learn economics, and spent two years in

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756-511: A woman to the cabinet had been rumored in the four previous administrations, with Roosevelt being the first to follow through. Roosevelt had witnessed Perkins's work firsthand during their time in Albany. With few exceptions, President Roosevelt consistently supported the goals and programs of Secretary Perkins. Perkins played a role in the New Deal by helping to write legislation. As chair of

819-515: The Democratic Party , Perkins was the first woman ever to serve in a presidential cabinet . As a loyal supporter of her longtime friend, President Franklin D. Roosevelt , she helped make labor issues important in the emerging New Deal coalition . She was one of two Roosevelt cabinet members to remain in office for his entire presidency (the other being Interior Secretary Harold L. Ickes ). Perkins' most important role came in developing

882-706: The Frances Perkins Building in 1980. Perkins was honored with a postage stamp that same year. Her home in Washington, D.C. from 1937 to 1940, and her Maine family home are both designated National Historic Landmarks . The Frances Perkins Center is a nonprofit organization located at the Frances Perkins Homestead in Newcastle, Maine, which was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2014. On April 10, 2003,

945-570: The Great Depression . It built large-scale public works such as dams, bridges, hospitals, and schools. Its goals were to spend $ 3.3 billion in the first year, and $ 6 billion in all, to supply employment, stabilize buying power , and help revive the economy. Most of the spending came in two waves, one in 1933–1935 and another in 1938. Originally called the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works , it

1008-804: The San Francisco Mint , which cost $ 1,072,254 to build, as well as the Keys Overseas Highway in Florida. Although this highway was already built prior to the PWA's existence, PWA funding made the road usable again. The 1935 Labor Day hurricane had heavily damaged the highway, and the Florida East Coast Railway was only able to repair the bridge after the PWA came in and offered assistance. A large majority of PWA projects are still in use today because of one big reason:

1071-552: The Williamsburg Houses in Brooklyn . The PWA spent over $ 6 billion but did not succeed in returning the level of industrial activity to pre-Depression levels. Though successful in many aspects, it has been acknowledged that the PWA's objective of constructing a substantial number of quality, affordable housing units was a major failure. Some have argued that because Roosevelt was opposed to deficit spending, there

1134-603: The Classical High School in Worcester. She earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry and physics from Mount Holyoke College in 1902. While attending Mount Holyoke, Perkins discovered progressive politics and the suffrage movement. She was named class president. One of her professors was Annah May Soule , who assigned students to tour a factory to study working conditions; Perkins recalled Soule's course as an important influence. After college, Perkins held

1197-416: The New Deal. The WPA, headed by Harry Hopkins , engaged in smaller projects in close cooperation with local governments—such as building city halls, sewers, or sidewalks. The PWA projects were much larger in scope, such as giant dams. The WPA hired only people on relief who were paid directly by the federal government, while in contrast, the PWA gave contracts to private firms that hired workers for projects on

1260-491: The New York office of the National Consumers League and lobbied with vigor for better working hours and conditions. She also taught as a professor of sociology at Adelphi College . The next year, she witnessed the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire , a pivotal event in her life. The factory employed hundreds of workers, mostly young women, but lacked fire escapes. In addition, the owner kept all

1323-502: The PWA allowed the state and local governments to pick what they wanted to have built or repaired, where they wanted the project as well as who they wanted to build it. Such freedom gave local governments the ability to select a truly useful building that could be used for years down the line. The PWA should not be confused with its great rival, the Works Progress Administration (WPA), though both were part of

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1386-557: The PWA in an attempt to help the U.S.'s economy recover after the Great Depression. Its major objective was to reduce unemployment, which was up to 24% of the work force. Furthermore, the PWA also aimed at increasing purchase power by constructing new public buildings and roads. Frances Perkins had first suggested a federally financed public works program, and the idea received considerable support from Harold L. Ickes , James Farley , and Henry Wallace . After having scaled back

1449-689: The PWA was abolished and its functions were transferred to the Federal Works Agency in June 1943. The PWA played an indirect hand in the war by helping fund the construction of two aircraft carriers, Yorktown and Enterprise. Both of these ships played a significant role in the victory in Midway when they sank four Japanese aircraft carriers. The PWA also built four cruisers, four heavy destroyers, light destroyers, submarines, planes, engines, and even instruments for these vessels. The PWA helped get

1512-922: The President's Committee on Economic Security, she was involved in all aspects of its advisory reports, including the Civilian Conservation Corps and the She-She-She Camps . Her most important contribution was to help design the Social Security Act of 1935. Perkins created the Immigration and Naturalization Service . She sought to implement liberal immigration policies but some of her efforts experienced pushback, especially in Congress. Perkins went to Geneva between June 11 and 18, 1938. On June 13, she gave

1575-642: The US get ready to fight in World War II, giving the US an advantage with fresh boats, planes, and equipment. The PWA was responsible for the construction of about 34,000 buildings, bridges, and homes many of which are still in use today. Among these is one of the most recognizable bridges in the U.S., the Triborough Bridge , which was renamed the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge. PWA funded workers to construct

1638-654: The United States , the federal minimum wage, and federal laws regulating child labor. In 1967, the Telluride House and Cornell University 's School of Industrial and Labor Relations established the Frances Perkins Memorial Fellowship. In 1982, Perkins was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame . In 2015, Perkins was named by Equality Forum as one of their 31 Icons of the 2015 LGBT History Month . In 2019, she

1701-671: The University of Illinois Institute of Labor and Industrial relations in 1955 and 1958. At Cornell, she lived at the Telluride House where she was one of the first women to become a member of that renowned intellectual community. Kirstin Downey, author of The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR's Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience , dubbed her time at the Telluride House "probably

1764-660: The West Coast International Longshore and Warehouse Union , Harry Bridges . Ultimately, Bridges was vindicated by the Supreme Court . After the death of President Roosevelt in April 1945, Harry Truman replaced the Roosevelt cabinet, naming Lewis B. Schwellenbach as Secretary of Labor. Perkins's tenure as secretary ended on June 30, 1945, with the swearing in of Schwellenbach. Following her tenure as Secretary of Labor, in 1945, Perkins

1827-530: The birth of her daughter, but returned after her husband's illness to provide for her family. According to biographer Kirstin Downey , Susanna displayed " manic-depressive symptoms", as well. Perkins shared the Georgetown, D.C. home of an old friend, Mary Harriman Rumsey , who had founded the Junior League in 1901, for less than a year, until Rumsey's death in 1934. Rumsey and Perkins' arrangement

1890-504: The budget, Lewis Douglas overrode the views of leading senators in reducing appropriations to $ 3.5 billion and in transferring much of that money to other agencies instead of their own specific appropriations. The cautious and penurious Ickes won out over the more imaginative Hugh S. Johnson as chief of public works administration. Political competition between rival Democratic state organizations and between Democrats and Progressive Republicans led to delays in implementing PWA efforts on

1953-439: The building's floor was refurbished, an exterior lighting system was activated, and the loading dock was upgraded. Key improvements planned included a top-line interior lighting system, seating upgrades to replace the decades-old plastic molded chairs, more restrooms, and a new concessions program. The "Montgomery Theater" is attached to the east side of the building. Seating 486, it is the primary home of CMT San Jose . Many of

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2016-493: The career of her husband, then the secretary to the New York City mayor. She defended her right to keep her maiden name in court. The couple had a daughter, Susanna, born in December 1916. Less than two years later, Wilson began to show signs of mental illness. He would be institutionalized frequently for mental illness throughout the remainder of their marriage. Perkins had cut back slightly on her public life following

2079-436: The city working as a social worker. Shortly after, she moved to Greenwich Village , New York, where she attended Columbia University and became active in the suffrage movement. In support of the movement, Perkins attended protests and meetings, and advocated for the cause on street corners. She earned a master's degree in economics and sociology from Columbia in 1910. In 1910 Perkins achieved statewide prominence as head of

2142-494: The concrete and a third of the steel of the entire nation. The PWA also electrified the Pennsylvania Railroad between New York City and Washington, DC . At the local level, it built courthouses, schools, hospitals, and other public facilities that remain in use in the 21st century. The PWA was supposed to be the centerpiece of the New Deal's drive to build public housing for the urban poor. Public housing

2205-456: The delay in Perkins's confirmation was not due to her gender, some state senators pointed to Perkins's not taking her husband's name as a sign that she was a radical. Perkins was confirmed on February 18, 1919, becoming one of the first female commissioners in New York, and began working out of New York City. The state senate-confirmed position made Perkins one of three commissioners overseeing

2268-401: The doors and stairwells locked in order to prevent employees from taking breaks. When the building caught fire, many workers tried unsuccessfully to escape through the windows. Just a year before, these same women and girls had fought for the 54-hour work week and other benefits that Perkins had championed. One hundred and forty-six workers died. Perkins blamed lax legislation for the loss. As

2331-558: The entire GDP of $ 60 billion), the driving force of America's biggest construction effort up to that date. By June 1934, the agency had distributed its entire fund to 13,266 federal projects and 2,407 non-federal projects. For every worker on a PWA project, almost two additional workers were employed indirectly. The PWA accomplished the electrification of rural America, the building of canals, tunnels, bridges, highways, streets, sewage systems, and housing areas, as well as hospitals, schools, and universities; every year, it consumed roughly half of

2394-430: The governor said he received complaints about the mural from state business officials and an "anonymous" fax charging that it was reminiscent of "communist North Korea where they use these murals to brainwash the masses". LePage also ordered that the names of seven conference rooms in the state department of labor be changed, including one named after Perkins. A lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court seeking "to confirm

2457-523: The halls of power after her. Perkins had a cool personality that held her aloof from the crowd. On one occasion, however, she engaged in some heated name-calling with Alfred P. Sloan , the chairman of the board at General Motors. During a punishing United Auto Workers strike, she phoned Sloan in the middle of the night and called him a scoundrel and a skunk for not meeting the union's demands. She said, "You don't deserve to be counted among decent men. You'll go to hell when you die." Sloan's late-night response

2520-561: The happiest phase of her life". Perkins is buried in the Glidden Cemetery in Newcastle, Maine . She was also known locally as "Mrs. Paul Wilson" and is buried by that name. Perkins is famous for being the first woman cabinet member, as well as from her policy accomplishments. She was heavily involved with many issues associated with the social safety net including, the creation of Social Security, unemployment insurance in

2583-413: The industrial code, and the supervisor of both the bureau of information and statistics and the bureau of mediation and arbitration. The position also came with an $ 8,000 salary (equivalent to $ 141,000 in 2023), making Perkins the highest-paid woman in New York state government. Six months into her job, her fellow Commissioner James M. Lynch called Perkins's contributions "invaluable," and added "[f]rom

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2646-527: The initial cost of the PWA, Franklin Delano Roosevelt agreed to include the PWA as part of his New Deal proposals in the "Hundred Days" of spring 1933. The PWA headquarters in Washington planned projects, which were built by private construction companies hiring workers on the open market. Unlike the WPA, it did not hire the unemployed directly. More than any other New Deal program, the PWA epitomized

2709-422: The local level. Ickes instituted quotas for hiring skilled and unskilled black people in construction financed through the PWA. Resistance from employers and unions was partially overcome by negotiations and implied sanctions. Although results were ambiguous, the plan helped provide African Americans with employment, especially among unskilled workers. When Roosevelt moved industry toward World War II production,

2772-618: The most popular entertainers and public figures have appeared at the venue creating memorable historic events since its opening in 1936. Barbra Streisand appeared there during her first concert tour in 1963. Bob Dylan and the Hawks played a famous show there on December 12, 1965, and Allen Ginsberg made a tape of it now held by the Stanford University Libraries . Earlier that year the Rolling Stones played

2835-716: The mural's current location, ensure that the artwork is adequately preserved, and ultimately to restore it to the Department of Labor's lobby in Augusta ". As of January 2013 , the mural resides in the Maine State Museum , at the entrance to the Maine State Library and Maine State Archives. In 2022, Frances Perkins was officially added to the Episcopal Church liturgical calendar with

2898-531: The private sector job market. The WPA also had youth programs (the National Youth Administration ), projects for women, and art projects that the PWA did not have. Frances Perkins Frances Perkins (born Fannie Coralie Perkins ; April 10, 1880 – May 14, 1965) was an American workers-rights advocate who served as the fourth United States Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945, the longest serving in that position. A member of

2961-709: The progressive notion of "priming the pump" to encourage economic recovery. Between July 1933 and March 1939, the PWA funded and administered the construction of more than 34,000 projects including airports, large electricity-generating dams, major warships for the Navy, and bridges and 70 percent of the new schools and a third of the hospitals built in 1933–1939. Streets and highways were the most common PWA projects, as 11,428 road projects, or 33 percent of all PWA projects, accounting for over 15 percent of its total budget. School buildings, 7,488 in all, came in second at 14 percent of spending. PWA functioned chiefly by making allotments to

3024-452: The respect of various political factions, Perkins helped put New York in the forefront of progressive reform. She expanded factory investigations, reduced the workweek for women to 48 hours, and championed minimum wage and unemployment insurance laws. She worked vigorously to put an end to child labor and to provide safety for women workers. In 1933, Roosevelt summoned Perkins to ask her to join his cabinet. Perkins presented Roosevelt with

3087-513: The selection of Perkins because of a perceived lack of ties to labor. As secretary, Perkins oversaw the Department of Labor . Perkins went on to hold the position for 12 years, longer than any other Secretary of Labor and the fourth longest of any cabinet secretary . She also became the first woman to hold a cabinet position in the United States, thus she became the first woman to enter the presidential line of succession . The selection of

3150-639: The state. In 1919, she was added to the Industrial Commission of the State of New York by Governor Al Smith . Her nomination was met with protests from both manufacturers and labor, neither of whom felt Perkins represented their interests. Smith stood by Perkins as someone who could be a voice for women and girls in the workforce and for her work on the Wagner Factory Investigating Committee. Although claiming

3213-506: The various federal agencies; making loans and grants to state and other public bodies; and making loans without grants (for a brief time) to the railroads. For example, it provided funds for the Indian Division of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to build roads, bridges, and other public works on and near Indian reservations. The PWA became, with its " multiplier-effect " and a first two-year budget of $ 3.3 billion (compared to

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3276-399: The work which Miss Perkins has accomplished I am convinced that more women ought to be placed in high positions throughout the state departments." In 1929, the newly elected New York governor, Franklin Roosevelt, appointed Perkins as the inaugural New York state industrial commissioner. As commissioner, Perkins supervised an agency with 1,800 employees. Having earned the co-operation and

3339-408: Was a convention hall called "Parkside Hall". It opened on September 22, 1977, as the "San Jose Convention Center". It served as the city's main convention center until a new facility of the same name opened across the street in 1989. The building was demolished in 2019. A $ 25 million renovation of the venue (approved in 2007) was begun in 2009. A state-of-the-art sound and video system was installed,

3402-568: Was a new concept in the United States, tested for the first time during the New Deal. With this in mind the PWA constructed a total of 52 housing communities for a total of 29,000 units, which was less than what many supporters of public housing had hoped for. The first public housing community built by PWA was the whites-only Techwood Homes in Atlanta, Georgia . The PWA also built one of the first public housing projects in New York City ,

3465-612: Was announced as among the members of the inaugural class of the Government Hall of Fame. Also that year, Elizabeth Warren used a podium built with wood salvaged from the Perkins Homestead . As the first woman to become a member of the presidential cabinet, Perkins had an unenviable challenge: she had to be as capable, as fearless, as tactful, and as politically astute as the other Washington politicians, in order to make it possible for other women to be accepted into

3528-629: Was asked by President Truman to serve on the United States Civil Service Commission , which she accepted. In her post as commissioner, Perkins spoke out against government officials requiring secretaries and stenographers to be physically attractive, blaming the practice for the shortage of secretaries and stenographers in the government. Perkins left the Civil Service Commission in 1952 when her husband died. During this period, she also published

3591-542: Was born in Boston , Massachusetts, to Susan Ella Perkins (née Bean; 1849–1927) and Frederick William Perkins (1844–1916), the owner of a stationer's business (both of her parents originally were from Maine ). Fannie Perkins had one sister, Ethel Perkins Harrington (1884–1965). The family could trace their roots to colonial America, and the women had a tradition of work in education. She spent much of her childhood in Worcester, Massachusetts . Frederick loved Greek literature and passed that love on to Fannie. Perkins attended

3654-419: Was for practical reasons, as a December 1933 Washington Post columnist had criticized Perkins for not meeting social obligations, due to her apartment accommodations. Later Perkins shared a home with Caroline O’Day , a Democratic congresswoman from New York. Prior to moving to Washington, D.C., Perkins held various positions in the New York state government. She had gained respect from the political leaders in

3717-523: Was instrumental in getting the New York legislature to pass a "54-hour" bill that capped the number of hours women and children could work. Perkins pressed for votes for the legislation, encouraging proponents including Franklin D. Roosevelt to filibuster, while Perkins called state senators to make sure they could be present for the final vote. In 1913, Perkins married New York economist Paul Caldwell Wilson. She kept her maiden name because she did not want her activities in Albany and New York City to affect

3780-412: Was not enough money spent to help the PWA achieve its housing goals. Reeves (1973) argues that Roosevelt's competitive theory of administration proved to be inefficient and produced delays. The competition over the size of expenditure, the selection of the administrator, and the appointment of staff at the state level, led to delays and the ultimate failure of PWA as a recovery instrument. As director of

3843-447: Was one of irate indignation. Her achievements indicate her great love of workers and lower-class groups, but her Boston upbringing held her back from mingling freely and exhibiting personal affection. She was well-suited for the high-level efforts to effect sweeping reforms, but never caught the public's eye or its affection. President Jimmy Carter renamed the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C.,

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3906-532: Was renamed the Public Works Administration in 1935 and shut down in 1944. The PWA spent over $ 7 billion on contracts with private construction firms that did the actual work. It created an infrastructure that generated national and local pride in the 1930s and is still vital nine decades later. The PWA was much less controversial than its rival agency, the Works Progress Administration (WPA), headed by Harry Hopkins , which focused on smaller projects and hired unemployed unskilled workers. The Administration created

3969-413: Was the venue for the trampoline events of the inaugural World Games I in 1981. Public Works Administration The Public Works Administration ( PWA ), part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes . It was created by the National Industrial Recovery Act in June 1933 in response to

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