The voice of Frances Perkins’ statue recounts her harrowing experience as an eyewitness to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire on March 25, 1911, a tragedy that claimed 146 lives and profoundly influenced her life’s work. From her statue’s bench, she narrates her journey from serving on the state commission to investigate the fire to advising Governors Al Smith and Franklin D. Roosevelt on labor issues.

Frances Perkins 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 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.

Perkins’ most important role came in developing 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.