Frances Perkins: “What You Really Want Is an Autopsy”

Frances Perkins dramatically changed the role of the Department of Labor during her tenure as secretary of labor under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. From her work in the settlement house movement to her pioneering service as the first woman cabinet member, she championed the interests of working Americans through public speeches, legislative action, and deft political negotiations. During her tenure with the Labor Department, she championed the minimum wage, the right to collectively organize, protection from occupational diseases and hazards, a system of unemployment assistance and old-age pension, control over work hours, universal access to affordable healthy food, and the eradication of child labor. Her commitment to industrial reform is evident in her 1940 address to the Tristate Silicosis Conference, “What You Really Want Is an Autopsy.” In this speech, Perkins spoke about the need to find a solution to the problem of silicosis, a potentially fatal lung...