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U.S. Secretary of Labor (1933–1945) · 1880–1965
Wrote the win-win social contract of the New Deal.
The first woman in a U.S. presidential cabinet and the longest-serving Labor Secretary, Perkins was the principal architect of the New Deal's labor settlement — Social Security, the minimum wage and 40-hour week, and the end of most child labor.
Labor law as a social contract
Perkins built durable institutions — not one-off deals — that set a floor under workers and a stable framework under business, turning recurring conflict into predictable rules.
Social Security and wage-and-hour law gave workers security and gave business a stable, predictable labor market and steady consumer demand — a settlement both sides could build on for decades.
Good structure beats good intentions — the rules you set up (a fair scale, a grievance process) decide the relationship long after the meeting ends.
Source: The Frances Perkins Center
The framework they used
The Seven Tests of Just Cause