1 00:00:00,640 --> 00:00:03,240 Speaker 1: Hello friends, It's Josh and for this week's Select, I've 2 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:07,720 Speaker 1: chosen our September twenty twenty episode on Francis Perkins. If 3 00:00:07,760 --> 00:00:10,320 Speaker 1: you haven't heard of her, that's okay. She's one of 4 00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:13,400 Speaker 1: the most unsung Americans ever and was even left out 5 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:15,720 Speaker 1: of the history books for a while, all because she 6 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:18,800 Speaker 1: was a woman. Check out this episode where Francis Perkins 7 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:20,920 Speaker 1: gets her due. 8 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:30,440 Speaker 2: Welcome to Stuff You Should Know, a production of iHeartRadio. 9 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:36,040 Speaker 1: Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark, and 10 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:39,400 Speaker 1: there's Charles W Chuck Bryant and this is Stuff you 11 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:45,000 Speaker 1: Should Know, The Amazing Unsung Woman Edition Volume two. At 12 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:49,160 Speaker 1: least more than two. What number would you say then? 13 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:51,839 Speaker 2: I don't know, but I'll tell you what if you 14 00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:55,080 Speaker 2: want to take a vote on maybe one of the 15 00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:58,840 Speaker 2: most undersung while at the same time being most influential 16 00:00:58,920 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 2: Americans to ever live. 17 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:04,280 Speaker 3: Of Neil Diamond be Oh, he was very sung. 18 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:06,240 Speaker 1: I know, I'm not a big fan. 19 00:01:06,319 --> 00:01:12,480 Speaker 2: Anyway, you would be hard pressed to overlook ms Perkins. 20 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:15,880 Speaker 3: Yeah, miss Francis Perkins. 21 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:19,040 Speaker 1: Totally agree. Had never heard her name before, had never 22 00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:21,480 Speaker 1: even known she existed. But yeah, the more you dig injury, 23 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:23,960 Speaker 1: the more you was like, it was almost a crime 24 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:27,880 Speaker 1: that this woman was virtually written out of the history books. 25 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:29,880 Speaker 3: Yeah. And if you are. 26 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:34,039 Speaker 2: One of those people who was unfortunate to not be 27 00:01:34,080 --> 00:01:37,720 Speaker 2: able to work right now during quarantine and the effects 28 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 2: of COVID nineteen, and you are not lucky enough, but 29 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:47,640 Speaker 2: you know, deservedly enough receiving unemployment insurance, you can thank 30 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:49,440 Speaker 2: Francis Perkins for that. 31 00:01:49,440 --> 00:01:52,960 Speaker 1: That's right. And every single person who's getting a check 32 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:58,960 Speaker 1: as measley as they've gotten lately is getting one because 33 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:03,160 Speaker 1: of this system that Francis Perkins set up. And what's 34 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:08,200 Speaker 1: really I think worth noting too, this is exactly the 35 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:13,560 Speaker 1: kind of situation that she got this passed for, that 36 00:02:13,639 --> 00:02:16,919 Speaker 1: she helped design this for totally. Because there's a quote 37 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:19,880 Speaker 1: I can't remember exactly where the quote was, but to 38 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:24,560 Speaker 1: paraphrase it, it's basically like, we need to we need 39 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:26,760 Speaker 1: to always keep our eye on the long term and 40 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:30,639 Speaker 1: plan for the worst case scenario. While yes, there's a 41 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:33,160 Speaker 1: lot of immediate needs that we need, but there's always 42 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:34,880 Speaker 1: going to be something that comes down the road, and 43 00:02:34,919 --> 00:02:38,000 Speaker 1: if we have planned for it, we're way better off. 44 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:41,320 Speaker 1: Just imagine how disastrous it would be on top of 45 00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:44,280 Speaker 1: the current disaster. If there wasn't such a thing as 46 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:47,080 Speaker 1: unemployment insurance and this is how we found out that 47 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:48,400 Speaker 1: we really kind of needed. 48 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:52,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, it would be dark age's stuff in this country. 49 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:55,600 Speaker 1: Yeah. So if you have gotten your unemployment insurance check 50 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:59,919 Speaker 1: and it has helped you, thank Francis Perkins somehow. 51 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:02,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, and we want to thank How Stuff Works. That's 52 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:06,520 Speaker 2: where part of this research came from, and some other places, 53 00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:08,760 Speaker 2: but notably. And I want to shout this out because 54 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:12,680 Speaker 2: this is a library intern at the FDR Library who 55 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:15,840 Speaker 2: wrote a paper called Honoring the Achievements of FDR Secretary 56 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:20,359 Speaker 2: of Labor Jessica Brightman. This is really good stuff and 57 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:22,720 Speaker 2: she's a library intern and we want to shout her out. 58 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:24,160 Speaker 1: Yeah, she did great. 59 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:26,440 Speaker 2: Or she was at the time. I imagine she's moved 60 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:27,919 Speaker 2: on from that internship. 61 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:30,640 Speaker 1: After she turned that say in you bet you're bippy. 62 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:31,720 Speaker 1: She did so. 63 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:40,080 Speaker 2: Francis Perkins was born Fanny Coralai Perkins in Boston in 64 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:45,480 Speaker 2: eighteen eighty, but her relatives in her ancestors, came from Maine. 65 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:48,040 Speaker 2: And it's kind of funny here at the beginning of 66 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:51,920 Speaker 2: this how Stuff Works thing, it says she so undersung 67 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:55,520 Speaker 2: the even residents of her hometown of Demara scott A, Maine, 68 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:58,560 Speaker 2: didn't seem familiar with her legacy. I think that says 69 00:03:58,560 --> 00:03:59,280 Speaker 2: more about. 70 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:03,000 Speaker 1: Maine, right, They're like, we don't need to help her 71 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:04,160 Speaker 1: put on airs. 72 00:04:04,480 --> 00:04:06,320 Speaker 2: Well, then, just like you know, I don't ask, I 73 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:07,680 Speaker 2: don't tell, I just don't. 74 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:09,800 Speaker 3: Whatever she lived here, great good for her. 75 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:12,760 Speaker 1: I want to say. Also before the residents of Newcastle 76 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:17,520 Speaker 1: busta a vein in their forehead, she's also cited as 77 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:21,440 Speaker 1: a native of Newcastle, Maine, and they're right across the 78 00:04:21,520 --> 00:04:27,200 Speaker 1: Demara Scatta River from one another. I think she's from Newcastle. 79 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:29,599 Speaker 3: Was this like Adidas Puma thing? 80 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:34,719 Speaker 1: Maybe? Maybe, except to imagine if neither town knew what 81 00:04:34,839 --> 00:04:42,560 Speaker 1: shoes were, that would be a pretty accurate analogy. Oh boy, 82 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:46,320 Speaker 1: I love so she Yeah she was. She came from 83 00:04:46,400 --> 00:04:51,320 Speaker 1: really like died in the wool Yankee stock. Her family 84 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:55,720 Speaker 1: came over I think in the sixteen eighties. Her she 85 00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:59,359 Speaker 1: had like her family had built an outpost during the 86 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:02,760 Speaker 1: French Indian and wore her grandmother, who had more of 87 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:05,480 Speaker 1: an influence on her, she said than anybody. Had a 88 00:05:06,279 --> 00:05:11,240 Speaker 1: cousin who she was close to, who founded Howard University, 89 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:15,960 Speaker 1: and fought for the rights of newly freed African Americans. 90 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:18,920 Speaker 1: She came from like a long line of people who 91 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:23,880 Speaker 1: cared about other people, and yet surprisingly her parents were 92 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:28,240 Speaker 1: very conservative. They were in favor of, you know, helping 93 00:05:28,279 --> 00:05:31,719 Speaker 1: the poor, but not mingling with them, helping them, like 94 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:34,200 Speaker 1: helping them by like, you know, sending some money or 95 00:05:34,240 --> 00:05:40,080 Speaker 1: something like that. And they produced a child, Fanny Francis. 96 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:42,800 Speaker 1: She changed her name, I think in I don't know 97 00:05:42,839 --> 00:05:48,560 Speaker 1: her twenties or thirties. She was the opposite way. She 98 00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:52,120 Speaker 1: was like, no, like, people are people and they all 99 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:54,440 Speaker 1: deserve help, and there's a lot of injustice in this world, 100 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:57,360 Speaker 1: and I want to change it myself. And she's one 101 00:05:57,400 --> 00:06:03,200 Speaker 1: of those people who actually did enact tremendous change for 102 00:06:03,279 --> 00:06:04,320 Speaker 1: all the right reasons. 103 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:06,839 Speaker 3: Yeah, she said, people are people, so why should it 104 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:08,400 Speaker 3: be you. 105 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:10,880 Speaker 1: And I should get along so awfully? 106 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:13,839 Speaker 3: Which one was that? Depeche mode? 107 00:06:13,839 --> 00:06:15,920 Speaker 1: Depeche Mode, I can't baby. 108 00:06:15,760 --> 00:06:17,040 Speaker 3: Hey, that's Emily's jam. 109 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:20,120 Speaker 2: I mean she would She probably has that tattooed on 110 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:21,120 Speaker 2: her body somewhere. 111 00:06:22,839 --> 00:06:24,880 Speaker 3: In fact, we're both taking that none of my business. 112 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:27,359 Speaker 2: We're both doing that that silly, and I never do 113 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:29,120 Speaker 2: these things on Facebook, But I have time now the 114 00:06:29,160 --> 00:06:32,960 Speaker 2: top ten most influential albums, And I was like, which 115 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:35,640 Speaker 2: one are you gonna pick? New Order or depeche Mode 116 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:37,839 Speaker 2: for her? Because that's a that's a tough one. 117 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:42,320 Speaker 1: Well, I mean, can't She's got ten to choose from, right, Yeah. 118 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:45,520 Speaker 2: But I think for her those two are so inextricably tied. 119 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:46,680 Speaker 3: That it was one or the other. 120 00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:48,080 Speaker 1: I gotcha. 121 00:06:48,200 --> 00:06:49,919 Speaker 2: And she went to depeche Mode because they were first, 122 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:51,400 Speaker 2: and that's probably more influential. 123 00:06:52,640 --> 00:06:56,320 Speaker 1: Depeche Mode was before New Order. Huh yes, I mean 124 00:06:56,360 --> 00:06:59,560 Speaker 1: technically if you count New Order as an out outcropping 125 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:02,040 Speaker 1: of Joy than they were first. 126 00:07:02,720 --> 00:07:05,400 Speaker 3: Oh so well, Joy Division was different, though it. 127 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:07,520 Speaker 1: Was pretty different, different enough that they might as well 128 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:10,480 Speaker 1: be two different bands in which they were. You know 129 00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:13,480 Speaker 1: who we need to give us the judgment call is 130 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:18,200 Speaker 1: Francis Perkins, who apparently would not have enjoyed our banter. 131 00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:22,920 Speaker 1: She was very much known as like a dour, serious woman. 132 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:26,840 Speaker 1: But from what I can tell, that's actually a public 133 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:30,520 Speaker 1: persona that she wore to get men to take her seriously. 134 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:34,640 Speaker 2: Well, who can blame her because we'll see later on 135 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:37,960 Speaker 2: about her. It's no accident that she's lost to history 136 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:42,200 Speaker 2: in many ways. But what she was also was highly educated. 137 00:07:43,120 --> 00:07:47,240 Speaker 2: She graduated from Mount Holyoake in nineteen oh two, where 138 00:07:47,280 --> 00:07:51,400 Speaker 2: she majored in chemistry and physics, even though she made 139 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:54,760 Speaker 2: her name in economics, which means she was a very 140 00:07:54,760 --> 00:07:57,800 Speaker 2: well rounded human and had a very large brain. 141 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:00,600 Speaker 1: And apparently she had made it all the way through college. 142 00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:03,960 Speaker 1: In her senior year, I think she attended an economics 143 00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:10,000 Speaker 1: lecture by Florence Kelly, who was a huge wage justice crusader, 144 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:15,080 Speaker 1: and that just changed her life. 145 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:15,120 Speaker 3: Yeah, big time. 146 00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:18,200 Speaker 2: In nineteen this is post college, she went to Philly 147 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:22,520 Speaker 2: and she became general secretary of the Philadelphia Research and 148 00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:23,840 Speaker 2: Protective Association. 149 00:08:24,840 --> 00:08:25,440 Speaker 1: What did she do. 150 00:08:25,400 --> 00:08:31,400 Speaker 2: There, Well, she was in charge of investigating employment agencies 151 00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:35,559 Speaker 2: that were fake and that preyed on women, immigrant women specifically, 152 00:08:36,200 --> 00:08:38,360 Speaker 2: and she had to sort of deal with the dregs 153 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:43,160 Speaker 2: of society in that job and did so very successfully, 154 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:46,120 Speaker 2: and then decided she wanted to keep her education going, 155 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:49,240 Speaker 2: so while she was in Philly, she went to the 156 00:08:49,240 --> 00:08:51,760 Speaker 2: Wharton School of Finance and Commerce at the University of 157 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:56,560 Speaker 2: Pennsylvania because that's super easy and light learning. And then 158 00:08:56,720 --> 00:09:00,160 Speaker 2: after that she went to Columbia where she earned and 159 00:09:00,640 --> 00:09:03,680 Speaker 2: MA and social economics in nineteen ten. 160 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:07,000 Speaker 1: And we should say, like she's getting all of this schooling, 161 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:09,720 Speaker 1: but at the same time, she's also set herself off 162 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:13,800 Speaker 1: on a what's that like, learn while you work. 163 00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:16,200 Speaker 3: Program called internship. 164 00:09:17,480 --> 00:09:19,880 Speaker 1: Guess, So that's not exactly what I'm looking for, but yeah, 165 00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:21,560 Speaker 1: I mean it makes sense. So she set herself up 166 00:09:21,559 --> 00:09:24,120 Speaker 1: on a real world internship program. So while she was 167 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:28,360 Speaker 1: in Philly working for that bureau, she was investigating those 168 00:09:28,640 --> 00:09:32,840 Speaker 1: those fake employment rackets, Like she was on the ground 169 00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:38,239 Speaker 1: doing this stuff, like carrying out these inspections, investigating factories, 170 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:39,880 Speaker 1: like taking notes in like. 171 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:40,920 Speaker 3: The early twenties. 172 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:44,200 Speaker 1: Yeah, basically, yeah, while she's studying this stuff, she's also 173 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:48,199 Speaker 1: out doing and seeing this stuff firsthand that she's learning about, 174 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:51,160 Speaker 1: which from what I can tell, she really kind of 175 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:54,160 Speaker 1: digested and held on to and it just kept driving 176 00:09:54,160 --> 00:09:55,920 Speaker 1: her for the rest of her life. What she saw. 177 00:09:56,520 --> 00:09:58,240 Speaker 3: I think that's called the School of Hard Knocks. 178 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:01,319 Speaker 1: It is, But she enrolled then the Wharton School and 179 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:03,240 Speaker 1: the School of Hard Knocks at the same time, which 180 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:04,640 Speaker 1: is pretty impressive. 181 00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:04,839 Speaker 3: That's right. 182 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:08,760 Speaker 2: And after Columbia, after she got that master's, for two 183 00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:11,880 Speaker 2: years she served as executive secretary of the Consumers League 184 00:10:11,920 --> 00:10:16,040 Speaker 2: of New York. And this is where she really felt 185 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:22,480 Speaker 2: her life calling to improve wages, improve working conditions because 186 00:10:22,480 --> 00:10:27,319 Speaker 2: this was nineteen ten through nineteen twelve and things weren't 187 00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:32,080 Speaker 2: great in factories at the time. We could do a 188 00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:34,640 Speaker 2: podcast on I don't know what the focus would be, 189 00:10:34,800 --> 00:10:38,240 Speaker 2: necessarily because we've done labor unions. 190 00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:41,679 Speaker 1: But just labor conditions. Yeah, maybe so eye opening, But 191 00:10:42,160 --> 00:10:44,880 Speaker 1: she did. This is one of the things she did. 192 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:49,840 Speaker 1: There's very few more depressing words than these strung together. 193 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:55,679 Speaker 1: She improved working conditions for children. Yeah, that was one 194 00:10:55,720 --> 00:10:57,960 Speaker 1: of the things she did, I know, And that was 195 00:10:57,960 --> 00:11:00,320 Speaker 1: at the Consumers League of New York. And she got 196 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:03,480 Speaker 1: there and was like, yes, I've achieved one of my 197 00:11:03,520 --> 00:11:06,160 Speaker 1: first goals, which is working directly with the same Florence 198 00:11:06,240 --> 00:11:09,920 Speaker 1: Kelly who gave the economics lecture that changed her life 199 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:12,319 Speaker 1: years before Mount Holyoke. 200 00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:13,600 Speaker 3: That's right. 201 00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:15,840 Speaker 1: Yeah, So she was one of those ones who said 202 00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:17,400 Speaker 1: I want to do this, and then would do it 203 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:19,080 Speaker 1: and then would move on to the next thing. 204 00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:19,920 Speaker 3: Yeah. 205 00:11:19,920 --> 00:11:21,960 Speaker 2: She wouldn't stand around and wait for the statue to 206 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:22,840 Speaker 2: be built in her honor. 207 00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:24,520 Speaker 1: Exactly, yeah, exactly. 208 00:11:24,679 --> 00:11:29,200 Speaker 2: So we take a break, Yes, all right, we're gonna 209 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:32,600 Speaker 2: take a break and talk about a pretty devastating fire 210 00:11:32,640 --> 00:11:34,360 Speaker 2: in New York City that changed the course of her 211 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:59,880 Speaker 2: life right after this. What fire, Chuck, I'm talking about 212 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:04,920 Speaker 2: the Triangle shirt waist fire in Manhattan, sort of near 213 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:08,079 Speaker 2: Washington Square Park in Greenwich, right next to Washington Square 214 00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:09,880 Speaker 2: Park in Greenwich Village. 215 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:11,960 Speaker 1: I think it's an NYU building though. 216 00:12:12,200 --> 00:12:13,960 Speaker 2: It is, and I tried to pinpoint if that was 217 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:16,199 Speaker 2: the building where I actually had my film classes. 218 00:12:16,720 --> 00:12:17,040 Speaker 1: Was it? 219 00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:19,439 Speaker 3: I don't know. I can't quite tell. 220 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:20,520 Speaker 1: We got to know, Chuck. 221 00:12:21,440 --> 00:12:22,600 Speaker 3: I'll see if I can find out. 222 00:12:23,760 --> 00:12:26,880 Speaker 2: But a shirt waist was a woman's blouse, is what 223 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:29,160 Speaker 2: they called it at the time. And this was a 224 00:12:29,200 --> 00:12:33,000 Speaker 2: factory that made women's blouses. If you worked there, you 225 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:37,040 Speaker 2: were probably a young woman, you might be an immigrant. 226 00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:39,760 Speaker 3: You would work about fifty two hours a week. 227 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:43,240 Speaker 1: Oh, I saw twelve hours a day, seven days a week. 228 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:46,360 Speaker 3: What does that math turn out to Let's. 229 00:12:46,160 --> 00:12:52,960 Speaker 1: See seventy seven hundred and twenty Wait, I can't do 230 00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:53,960 Speaker 1: math out loud. 231 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:56,800 Speaker 2: Well, let's say between fifty two and eighty hours a week. 232 00:12:57,080 --> 00:12:59,559 Speaker 1: No, No, it was way more than that. Twelve times 233 00:12:59,679 --> 00:13:03,520 Speaker 1: seven eighty four. Yeah, that's what I said, eighty four 234 00:13:03,559 --> 00:13:06,800 Speaker 1: hours a week. But like, even that doesn't sound that big. 235 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:11,120 Speaker 1: Twelve hour days, seven days a week, just to keep your. 236 00:13:11,080 --> 00:13:13,200 Speaker 3: Job, right, so I saw fifty two. 237 00:13:13,320 --> 00:13:17,440 Speaker 2: Either way, they made between seven and twelve dollars a 238 00:13:17,480 --> 00:13:20,439 Speaker 2: week making these blouses for. 239 00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:22,760 Speaker 1: Women, which was not good even back then. 240 00:13:23,720 --> 00:13:24,600 Speaker 3: Yeah, it wasn't good. 241 00:13:24,679 --> 00:13:27,200 Speaker 2: And because this was a factory in New York in 242 00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:31,240 Speaker 2: nineteen eleven, they had the doors locked, they had the 243 00:13:31,240 --> 00:13:35,160 Speaker 2: staircases locked. They thought it prevented theft. If you remember 244 00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:37,880 Speaker 2: what happened to locked doors and stairwells in our Hotel 245 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:41,439 Speaker 2: Fire episode, the same thing happened here on March twenty fifth, 246 00:13:41,559 --> 00:13:47,560 Speaker 2: nineteen eleven when the triangle shirt waist fire started because 247 00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:50,600 Speaker 2: they think of a match or a cigarette but thrown 248 00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:54,680 Speaker 2: into a waste spin and it just, you know, everything 249 00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:57,840 Speaker 2: in there was flammable practically that wasn't metal because of 250 00:13:57,840 --> 00:13:59,719 Speaker 2: all these fabrics like highly flammable. 251 00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:01,320 Speaker 3: It went up really quick. 252 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:04,640 Speaker 2: It's one of the deadliest US workplace disasters of all 253 00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:08,040 Speaker 2: time to this day. Four one hundred and forty six 254 00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:12,120 Speaker 2: workers died, one hundred and twenty three of which were 255 00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:17,120 Speaker 2: women and girls between the ages of generally between fourteen 256 00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:17,679 Speaker 2: and twenty three. 257 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:19,240 Speaker 3: The oldest was forty three, but that was kind of 258 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:21,280 Speaker 3: an outlier, and. 259 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:23,720 Speaker 2: Sixty two of those people jumped to their death in 260 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:27,720 Speaker 2: front of full view of New York City, including. 261 00:14:28,720 --> 00:14:29,640 Speaker 3: Francis Perkins. 262 00:14:31,080 --> 00:14:33,040 Speaker 1: Right in front of Francis Perkins. She didn't jump to 263 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:37,400 Speaker 1: her death, no, no, no, So yeah, she's literally witnessing 264 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:41,040 Speaker 1: one of the turning points in history as it happens, 265 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:44,120 Speaker 1: seeing teenage girls jump out of the ninth floor of 266 00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:48,320 Speaker 1: this building because it's on fire. And not only is 267 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:52,120 Speaker 1: she witnessing a fire that will change history, she is 268 00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:55,440 Speaker 1: one of the people that will force history to change 269 00:14:55,640 --> 00:15:01,280 Speaker 1: because of this fire. The fate or the destiny that 270 00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:05,040 Speaker 1: put her a block away from this fire when it 271 00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:09,440 Speaker 1: happened is it's just astounding to me that she was there, 272 00:15:09,520 --> 00:15:11,160 Speaker 1: because she went on to be one of the people 273 00:15:11,160 --> 00:15:13,880 Speaker 1: who said this is never going to happen again, and 274 00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:17,560 Speaker 1: under her watch, it basically didn't. It was the worst 275 00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:20,440 Speaker 1: that it ever got and it never got that bad 276 00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:26,440 Speaker 1: again because of the safeguards she forced the state and 277 00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:30,080 Speaker 1: then later on other states in the federal government to adopt. 278 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:32,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, she was already kind of headed down 279 00:15:32,840 --> 00:15:34,920 Speaker 2: this road anyway, she was already part of the New 280 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:39,920 Speaker 2: York State Factory Investigating Commission, and because of this fire, 281 00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:41,880 Speaker 2: which she I don't think we said, she was just 282 00:15:41,920 --> 00:15:46,280 Speaker 2: having tea across the park there, ran over and saw this. 283 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:48,560 Speaker 3: One of the things she saw. 284 00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:51,400 Speaker 2: At one point, there were twenty people that had managed 285 00:15:51,440 --> 00:15:53,760 Speaker 2: to get out a window onto a fire escape, one 286 00:15:53,760 --> 00:15:57,120 Speaker 2: of those tiny, little flimsy New York fire escapes, and 287 00:15:57,120 --> 00:16:00,880 Speaker 2: that all twenty of those people and collapsed, and they 288 00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:02,600 Speaker 2: all fel to their one hundred feet to their death 289 00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:03,560 Speaker 2: right in front of her face. 290 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:06,400 Speaker 1: Yeah, we need to do an entire episode on that, 291 00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:09,160 Speaker 1: at the very least, just to shame the two owners, 292 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:12,800 Speaker 1: who's who were just totally responsible for all those deaths. 293 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:13,400 Speaker 3: Yeah. 294 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:16,120 Speaker 2: Absolutely, but this was sort of just the way it was, 295 00:16:16,400 --> 00:16:19,960 Speaker 2: I mean, not absolving them, but she saw this as 296 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:23,360 Speaker 2: part of the bigger problem, not like these two owners 297 00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:25,720 Speaker 2: are responsible, but she was like, it was an indictment 298 00:16:25,760 --> 00:16:26,400 Speaker 2: of the system. 299 00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:29,200 Speaker 1: Yeah, it was. But at the same time, those guys 300 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:33,480 Speaker 1: were particularly nasty examining for sure, the system. They weren't 301 00:16:33,560 --> 00:16:36,600 Speaker 1: averaged by any means from what I understand. 302 00:16:36,480 --> 00:16:38,680 Speaker 2: No, but what was average was the fact that they 303 00:16:38,720 --> 00:16:42,200 Speaker 2: didn't have fire codes, and she's the person that brought 304 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:42,560 Speaker 2: that in. 305 00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:43,560 Speaker 3: By the time she was in. 306 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:48,040 Speaker 2: Her early thirties, she had called for and successfully called 307 00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:54,440 Speaker 2: for exit signs, occupancy limits, sprinklers, fire escapes, unlocked doors, 308 00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:58,000 Speaker 2: and stairwells, how wide the doorways had to be depending 309 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:01,200 Speaker 2: on your factory floor, like all these of common sense things. 310 00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:04,200 Speaker 2: Like a lot of people saw this stuff happen and 311 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:08,880 Speaker 2: saw this incident that day and were horrified, but Francis 312 00:17:08,880 --> 00:17:11,520 Speaker 2: Perkins said, nope, I'm going to change it. I'm a 313 00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:15,320 Speaker 2: woman in nineteen eleven and I'm in my early thirties, 314 00:17:15,520 --> 00:17:17,240 Speaker 2: but I'm going to make this happen. And she did. 315 00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:20,720 Speaker 1: She did. She was appointed to the New York Committee 316 00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:24,280 Speaker 1: on Safety under the recommendation of Teddy Roosevelt, which says 317 00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:26,480 Speaker 1: a lot because that means she'd already made a name 318 00:17:26,520 --> 00:17:29,640 Speaker 1: for herself in her twenties in New York City politics, 319 00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:32,560 Speaker 1: to the point where Teddy Roosevelt would say, like, you 320 00:17:32,640 --> 00:17:35,239 Speaker 1: really kind of need this woman on there. And then 321 00:17:35,320 --> 00:17:37,840 Speaker 1: let's not forget the fact that that operative word here 322 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:41,320 Speaker 1: was woman as far as society was concerned at the time, 323 00:17:41,800 --> 00:17:45,680 Speaker 1: and this legislation that she got passed through in New York, 324 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:47,440 Speaker 1: or that she helped get passed through in New York, 325 00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:50,240 Speaker 1: like I was saying, it became a model for other 326 00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:55,640 Speaker 1: states and then eventually the federal fire codes because of this, 327 00:17:55,760 --> 00:18:00,000 Speaker 1: because of largely because of her efforts, and she made 328 00:18:00,119 --> 00:18:01,920 Speaker 1: a name for so she'd already made a name for self, 329 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:04,240 Speaker 1: but this really kind of helped cement her name. And 330 00:18:04,280 --> 00:18:07,320 Speaker 1: she started working closely with a guy named alfredy Smith 331 00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:12,320 Speaker 1: who was an assemblyman from New York, right, but he 332 00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:17,280 Speaker 1: she won his respect pretty easily. I think they worked 333 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:22,399 Speaker 1: on this New York Committee on Safety together, and so 334 00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:27,240 Speaker 1: when he became governor, she kind of rose along with him. 335 00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:31,200 Speaker 1: She was appointed by him to New York States Industrial Commission, 336 00:18:31,359 --> 00:18:33,600 Speaker 1: which made her the first woman to be appointed to 337 00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:36,720 Speaker 1: a state government position in the country. And with her 338 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:39,960 Speaker 1: eight thousand dollars salary, she was the highest paid woman 339 00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:43,040 Speaker 1: to hold any office in the United States at the time. 340 00:18:43,359 --> 00:18:46,960 Speaker 1: So she became important pretty quick. But she became important everybody, 341 00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:51,200 Speaker 1: This is really important to remember by hard work and heart, 342 00:18:52,119 --> 00:18:56,200 Speaker 1: which is just a wonderful combination. Like amazing things happen 343 00:18:57,040 --> 00:18:58,840 Speaker 1: from people who have that combination. 344 00:18:59,240 --> 00:19:05,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, and she ingratiated herself to these male politicians a 345 00:19:05,880 --> 00:19:09,359 Speaker 2: couple of different important times in her life, and the 346 00:19:09,359 --> 00:19:11,600 Speaker 2: first one was Alfredy Smith, like you were saying, so 347 00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:15,560 Speaker 2: she rose along with him because he knew He was like, man, 348 00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:18,040 Speaker 2: I don't care if she's a woman or not. She 349 00:19:18,240 --> 00:19:21,480 Speaker 2: works harder than anyone I know, and she gets the 350 00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:24,359 Speaker 2: job done. So I'm just going to bring her along with. 351 00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:27,560 Speaker 1: Me and not just works harder. She was known as 352 00:19:27,560 --> 00:19:31,880 Speaker 1: a policy expert about worker safety and wage justice by 353 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:32,640 Speaker 1: this time, too. 354 00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:34,960 Speaker 2: Well, yeah, I mean I talked about her very large 355 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:39,440 Speaker 2: brain and her higher education. She was super super smart, 356 00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:43,000 Speaker 2: Like I said, she majored in chemistry and physics, even 357 00:19:43,040 --> 00:19:44,520 Speaker 2: though her real love was econ. 358 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:46,520 Speaker 3: So it's like, are you kidding me? 359 00:19:46,840 --> 00:19:47,879 Speaker 1: No, we're not kidding at all. 360 00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:49,640 Speaker 3: So no, it's very much true. 361 00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:53,120 Speaker 1: So, like you were saying, she first kind of rose 362 00:19:53,119 --> 00:19:55,800 Speaker 1: to prominence with Alfredy Smith, who, from what I could tell, 363 00:19:55,960 --> 00:19:59,080 Speaker 1: I didn't get to research him very much, but the 364 00:19:59,119 --> 00:20:01,280 Speaker 1: stuff that I ran across the references to him, he 365 00:20:01,320 --> 00:20:05,520 Speaker 1: seemed like a genuine like true believer crusader and justice 366 00:20:05,560 --> 00:20:09,680 Speaker 1: social justice as well. So they were like a good 367 00:20:09,840 --> 00:20:12,639 Speaker 1: a good pair, and he made it as far as 368 00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:16,720 Speaker 1: New York governor. He ran for president and didn't win. Uh. 369 00:20:16,760 --> 00:20:19,639 Speaker 1: And when he didn't win, he, I guess lost the 370 00:20:19,640 --> 00:20:24,720 Speaker 1: governorship and was succeeded by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. And so 371 00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:27,840 Speaker 1: Roosevelt came in came into power in New York as 372 00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:31,560 Speaker 1: the governor of New York. Uh, and Francis Perkins was 373 00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:33,920 Speaker 1: already there, and it had already built up a reputation, 374 00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:38,800 Speaker 1: and Roosevelt recognized the kind of person she was pretty quickly, 375 00:20:39,119 --> 00:20:41,920 Speaker 1: because a lot of people are you know, you can 376 00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:44,240 Speaker 1: give a lot of credit or a lot of vilification 377 00:20:44,359 --> 00:20:47,679 Speaker 1: to Roosevelt for his New Deal policies, depending on your 378 00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:51,280 Speaker 1: political stripes. But if you, you know, if you admire 379 00:20:51,359 --> 00:20:53,919 Speaker 1: him for it, and I think most people should. He 380 00:20:55,880 --> 00:21:00,320 Speaker 1: it wasn't just him. One of his great talents to 381 00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:04,400 Speaker 1: recognize talent in othersah and to bring those people together 382 00:21:04,920 --> 00:21:08,840 Speaker 1: and then enact policies based on their expertise and their recommendations. 383 00:21:09,119 --> 00:21:12,080 Speaker 1: And one of those people was Francis Perkins, starting when 384 00:21:12,119 --> 00:21:14,480 Speaker 1: he was governor of New York and then also when 385 00:21:14,480 --> 00:21:15,720 Speaker 1: he became president too. 386 00:21:16,320 --> 00:21:19,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, So when he came into his governorship, she had 387 00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:23,199 Speaker 2: already been named and was the chairperson called it a 388 00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:26,200 Speaker 2: chairman back then in nineteen twenty six of the State 389 00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:27,160 Speaker 2: Industrial Board. 390 00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:29,720 Speaker 3: She was doing a great job there, and. 391 00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:33,200 Speaker 2: Then in nineteen twenty nine FDR appointed her as the 392 00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:35,359 Speaker 2: Industrial Commissioner of the State of New York. 393 00:21:36,119 --> 00:21:38,080 Speaker 3: And what happens. 394 00:21:38,640 --> 00:21:42,359 Speaker 2: The stock market crashes, the Great Depression hits America like 395 00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:46,359 Speaker 2: a punch in the face, and she was the one 396 00:21:46,400 --> 00:21:49,760 Speaker 2: who stepped in and got it in his ear and said, 397 00:21:50,119 --> 00:21:52,560 Speaker 2: you know what, I know that we have to feed 398 00:21:52,600 --> 00:21:55,280 Speaker 2: people right now. We have really immediate needs. But like 399 00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:57,480 Speaker 2: you mentioned earlier in the episode, she thought about the 400 00:21:58,160 --> 00:22:01,760 Speaker 2: big picture and long term goal. She said, we need 401 00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:05,800 Speaker 2: to really take swift action here. So with her help, 402 00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:09,960 Speaker 2: they created a committee unemployment. He appointed her the head 403 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:12,760 Speaker 2: of that, and then when he was elected president in 404 00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:15,159 Speaker 2: nineteen thirty three, he said, you know what, I'm going 405 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:17,119 Speaker 2: to point you to be my Secretary of Labor. 406 00:22:17,520 --> 00:22:18,280 Speaker 1: That was huge. 407 00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:21,320 Speaker 2: I've been working with you for twenty years, I trust you, 408 00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:23,199 Speaker 2: and you're going to do a great job. And the 409 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:27,120 Speaker 2: public roundly said, what a woman in the cabinet. 410 00:22:28,640 --> 00:22:32,000 Speaker 1: They really did, I mean like she was the first cabinet, 411 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:35,120 Speaker 1: first woman to serve it as a cabinet member. I mean, 412 00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:38,120 Speaker 1: women had just gotten the right to vote about thirteen 413 00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:39,920 Speaker 1: twelve or thirteen years before. 414 00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:43,240 Speaker 3: So she couldn't vote till she was forty, I know. 415 00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:48,320 Speaker 1: And yet she held public public appointed offices and still 416 00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:49,280 Speaker 1: couldn't vote, but. 417 00:22:49,359 --> 00:22:51,440 Speaker 3: Wasn't allowed to vote for her boss. 418 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:55,159 Speaker 1: Right, exactly. Yeah, So it was a really big deal 419 00:22:55,320 --> 00:22:59,960 Speaker 1: that FDR appointed a woman as a to a cabinet position, 420 00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:03,560 Speaker 1: and an important cabinet position too. I mean, like it's 421 00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:07,800 Speaker 1: not like there's any necessarily unimportant cabinet positions, but Secretary 422 00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:12,200 Speaker 1: of Labor is pretty big, especially, yeah, especially then, right, 423 00:23:12,359 --> 00:23:16,359 Speaker 1: and especially you know, at a time when this emerging 424 00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:19,560 Speaker 1: superpower took a huge punch in the face and got 425 00:23:19,640 --> 00:23:21,240 Speaker 1: knocked on its butt like the rest of the world 426 00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:23,879 Speaker 1: by the Great Depression. This is important stuff that they 427 00:23:23,920 --> 00:23:26,720 Speaker 1: were trying to figure out on the fly. But he 428 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:31,800 Speaker 1: chose really great person who wasn't really accepted at first, 429 00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:34,879 Speaker 1: not just by the public but by virtually anybody. The 430 00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:37,479 Speaker 1: labor unions weren't happy she was there because she had 431 00:23:37,520 --> 00:23:39,760 Speaker 1: a background in social work and policy. 432 00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:42,600 Speaker 3: Not yeah, labor than to death, yes, but she. 433 00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:46,159 Speaker 1: Eventually won them over, just by virtue of what she did, Like, 434 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:49,480 Speaker 1: the labor movement was on the ropes at the time. 435 00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:53,040 Speaker 1: The Progressive era ran from I think eighteen ninety to 436 00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:56,359 Speaker 1: about nineteen twenty. So by the time nineteen twenty nine, 437 00:23:56,440 --> 00:24:02,080 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty comes around, it's eyeing off the labor movement. 438 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:06,880 Speaker 1: But under her leadership as the Department of Labor Secretary, 439 00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:12,760 Speaker 1: she revived it. And by the time she either died 440 00:24:12,880 --> 00:24:15,960 Speaker 1: or left office I can't remember, I think a third 441 00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:18,560 Speaker 1: of all Americans were members of unions. 442 00:24:18,840 --> 00:24:21,439 Speaker 2: Yeah, and pre the union stuff like kind of right 443 00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:22,920 Speaker 2: after the Great Depression hit. 444 00:24:23,040 --> 00:24:24,120 Speaker 3: One of the first things. 445 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:29,719 Speaker 2: They did together was created the Civilian Conservation Corps the CCC, 446 00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:32,960 Speaker 2: which was a really big success, one of the big 447 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:35,840 Speaker 2: early successes of the New Deal in that they said, 448 00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:37,960 Speaker 2: you know what, we have all this, We have this 449 00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:43,560 Speaker 2: workforce of these unskilled, unmarried men, and let's get these 450 00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:49,040 Speaker 2: guys working in conservation. We have this vast areas of 451 00:24:49,119 --> 00:24:52,560 Speaker 2: rural land and natural resources, and let's send these guys 452 00:24:52,560 --> 00:24:54,880 Speaker 2: out there to work on this stuff. And they did, 453 00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:57,840 Speaker 2: and it provided a ton of jobs through the Civilian 454 00:24:57,880 --> 00:24:59,040 Speaker 2: Conservation Corps. 455 00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:02,560 Speaker 1: It did, and it also helped reinforce and build out 456 00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:06,080 Speaker 1: America's infrastructure too, because they had all this labor that 457 00:25:06,119 --> 00:25:09,120 Speaker 1: the government was putting to work doing it right. So 458 00:25:09,480 --> 00:25:15,639 Speaker 1: she was in charge of overseeing that. And one of 459 00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:18,160 Speaker 1: the other I guess the next big thing, I think 460 00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:22,119 Speaker 1: it was before Social Security, was something called the Wagner Act, 461 00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:23,720 Speaker 1: and the Wagner. 462 00:25:23,359 --> 00:25:25,639 Speaker 3: Act came, I mean the Wagner Act. 463 00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:32,120 Speaker 1: The Wagner Wagner Act, depending on your persuasion. It gave 464 00:25:33,080 --> 00:25:36,560 Speaker 1: workers the right to unionize, in the right to collectively bargain. 465 00:25:37,480 --> 00:25:41,000 Speaker 1: And one of her roles was to go out and 466 00:25:41,040 --> 00:25:44,480 Speaker 1: promote this stuff, not just to you know, other members 467 00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:48,960 Speaker 1: of the government or members of industry, but to individual 468 00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:52,520 Speaker 1: Americans too. So in nineteen thirty three alone, she gave 469 00:25:52,520 --> 00:25:56,000 Speaker 1: one hundred different policy speeches in just that one year 470 00:25:56,160 --> 00:26:00,040 Speaker 1: on new Deal projects promoting them. And one of the 471 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:02,399 Speaker 1: speech as she gave, I don't know if it was 472 00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:05,320 Speaker 1: in that year or not, but she went to Homestead, Pennsylvania, 473 00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:08,640 Speaker 1: right across the river from Pittsburgh, where Carnegie Steel was headquartered, 474 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:11,760 Speaker 1: and she was going to inform these workers about their 475 00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:16,280 Speaker 1: newly won rights through the Wagner Act, and Carnegie Steel 476 00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:19,399 Speaker 1: and the local government would not give her any place 477 00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:22,840 Speaker 1: to hold this meeting. They wouldn't give the Secretary of 478 00:26:22,920 --> 00:26:26,679 Speaker 1: Labor a place to talk to voters. So she and 479 00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:29,520 Speaker 1: there's apparently a famous picture of her leading all of 480 00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:34,160 Speaker 1: these steel workers on foot to a post office. She's like, Oh, 481 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:36,359 Speaker 1: I can think of a place where I can assemble legally, 482 00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:38,480 Speaker 1: and that is the post office. So she gave her 483 00:26:38,520 --> 00:26:41,400 Speaker 1: speech on the grounds of the Homestead Post Office two 484 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:44,240 Speaker 1: thousands of steel workers, informing them that they could legally 485 00:26:45,359 --> 00:26:49,040 Speaker 1: unionize and bargain collectively for workers' rights. 486 00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:50,520 Speaker 3: That's amazing. 487 00:26:50,640 --> 00:26:53,919 Speaker 2: I feel like if I feel like we had to 488 00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:57,200 Speaker 2: have talked about her in our union's episode, and if 489 00:26:57,240 --> 00:27:00,600 Speaker 2: we didn't, shame on us, but also shame on the 490 00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:02,760 Speaker 2: fact that she probably didn't pop up in our research, 491 00:27:03,240 --> 00:27:03,800 Speaker 2: which is one. 492 00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:04,400 Speaker 3: Of the problems. 493 00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:05,840 Speaker 1: Yeah, mostly the second one. 494 00:27:05,880 --> 00:27:07,960 Speaker 3: All right, So I'm going to pass that buck. 495 00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:11,800 Speaker 1: Right the book stops over there. 496 00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:13,960 Speaker 3: Well, we're making up for it now either. 497 00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:16,920 Speaker 1: Way, Okay, Chuck. So we were saying at the outset 498 00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:20,960 Speaker 1: that if you got an unemployment check, thank Francis Perkins, 499 00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:23,199 Speaker 1: or if you ever get an unemployment check, if you 500 00:27:23,280 --> 00:27:25,840 Speaker 1: even like the idea of the fact that an unemployment 501 00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:29,119 Speaker 1: insurance policy is out there for you in case you 502 00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:31,960 Speaker 1: ever need it. Thank Francis Perkins. And the reason you 503 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:36,240 Speaker 1: fut thank Francis Perkins is because she basically oversaw the 504 00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:40,640 Speaker 1: creation of the legislation that became the Social Security Act 505 00:27:40,680 --> 00:27:45,119 Speaker 1: of nineteen thirty five. And when I say oversaw the 506 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:50,639 Speaker 1: creation of that legislation, like she that was it. She 507 00:27:50,880 --> 00:27:54,399 Speaker 1: was the head of this cabinet level committee that was 508 00:27:54,480 --> 00:28:00,639 Speaker 1: assigned the task of coming up with a social insuranrants policy, 509 00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:03,800 Speaker 1: a social safety net for the country. And they came 510 00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:08,200 Speaker 1: up with this within six months, this full policy report, 511 00:28:08,480 --> 00:28:11,639 Speaker 1: and within two days of delivering the report, FDR turned 512 00:28:11,680 --> 00:28:16,760 Speaker 1: around and unveiled the Social Security Program idea to Congress, 513 00:28:17,040 --> 00:28:20,919 Speaker 1: and another six months or so later, maybe eight passed 514 00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:21,480 Speaker 1: into law. 515 00:28:22,240 --> 00:28:25,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, and boy, we should do one on social security 516 00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:26,080 Speaker 2: at some point. 517 00:28:26,520 --> 00:28:30,920 Speaker 1: I agree, I think we have. Man, I'm all really positive. Yeah, 518 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:34,879 Speaker 1: it really rings a bell. Go ahead, I'm looking at it. 519 00:28:34,920 --> 00:28:37,080 Speaker 2: Well, no, I'm going to have our little our assistant 520 00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:37,800 Speaker 2: over here check that. 521 00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:40,640 Speaker 3: Can you go and check on that? Okay, they're on it. 522 00:28:41,440 --> 00:28:42,720 Speaker 1: Who is Tommy Chong? 523 00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:45,840 Speaker 3: Like we've ever had anyone that worked for us. 524 00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:49,080 Speaker 2: That's the funny thing is when we get emails over 525 00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:52,520 Speaker 2: the years they're like, well to Josh and Chuck and 526 00:28:52,600 --> 00:28:54,920 Speaker 2: Jerry or whoever on your staff is reading this. 527 00:28:55,440 --> 00:28:58,320 Speaker 3: I was like, yeah, it's pretty much us. 528 00:28:58,600 --> 00:29:01,960 Speaker 1: Yeah, well we're these emails while we're having to sweep 529 00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:02,720 Speaker 1: up the studio. 530 00:29:03,440 --> 00:29:05,400 Speaker 2: Well, I want to be fair. To be fair, we 531 00:29:05,440 --> 00:29:08,080 Speaker 2: work for a big podcasting network and there are a 532 00:29:08,120 --> 00:29:10,400 Speaker 2: lot of people that help us get stuff out in 533 00:29:10,440 --> 00:29:12,640 Speaker 2: the world, but we have never had like a stuff 534 00:29:12,680 --> 00:29:15,680 Speaker 2: you should know staff of eight people who only work 535 00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:17,640 Speaker 2: for us in research for us and all that stuff. 536 00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:19,880 Speaker 1: And I feel like it really shows in the podcast, 537 00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:21,800 Speaker 1: like I'm glad. 538 00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:22,960 Speaker 2: You said that, because I felt like I was patting 539 00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:24,160 Speaker 2: ourselves on the back for a second. 540 00:29:24,200 --> 00:29:25,600 Speaker 1: There the opposite. 541 00:29:25,920 --> 00:29:27,240 Speaker 3: You dash that very fast. 542 00:29:27,400 --> 00:29:30,160 Speaker 1: Sure self deprecation, Chuck, that's our specialty. 543 00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:30,680 Speaker 3: That's right. 544 00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:57,160 Speaker 2: So social security, what we're talking about in general, everyone 545 00:29:57,240 --> 00:30:03,320 Speaker 2: knows what this is is basically a system where younger, 546 00:30:03,960 --> 00:30:08,080 Speaker 2: hardy people working hard in this country help out older people, 547 00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:12,400 Speaker 2: retired people, perhaps disabled people, people that have had work 548 00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:14,040 Speaker 2: related accidents. 549 00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:15,920 Speaker 1: People who wear funny hats, people. 550 00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:20,000 Speaker 3: Who wear funny hats and pay into this system. 551 00:30:19,640 --> 00:30:22,360 Speaker 2: That ideally, and you know, we're not going to get 552 00:30:22,360 --> 00:30:24,280 Speaker 2: into the weeds here that would come on our Social 553 00:30:24,280 --> 00:30:27,560 Speaker 2: Security podcasts. But ideally then when you are old or 554 00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:30,360 Speaker 2: in need, then you have that same money waiting for 555 00:30:30,400 --> 00:30:33,160 Speaker 2: you because of the younger generation and the younger workforce. 556 00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:35,760 Speaker 1: Right, that's the brilliance of the whole thing is it's 557 00:30:35,800 --> 00:30:40,920 Speaker 1: a transfer payment system to where you are directly funding 558 00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:44,080 Speaker 1: the people who are retired now, but it's on the 559 00:30:44,120 --> 00:30:47,080 Speaker 1: premise that people behind you are going to fund into 560 00:30:47,120 --> 00:30:50,840 Speaker 1: this to support you later on. It's beautiful. It's a 561 00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:56,320 Speaker 1: genius idea. And apparently FDR sent her Francis Perkins to 562 00:30:56,480 --> 00:31:01,080 Speaker 1: study the British system of unemployment and insurance even before 563 00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:03,280 Speaker 1: he was president, back when he was Governor of New York. 564 00:31:03,680 --> 00:31:06,800 Speaker 1: Then he became the first public official to commit to 565 00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:10,600 Speaker 1: developing an unemployment insurance plan. And it was at the 566 00:31:10,640 --> 00:31:13,360 Speaker 1: persistent behest of Francis Perkins that he did that. 567 00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:17,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, and it's not like, I mean, he didn't run 568 00:31:17,440 --> 00:31:21,040 Speaker 2: for office with social security on his list of things 569 00:31:21,120 --> 00:31:21,440 Speaker 2: to do. 570 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:24,280 Speaker 1: Well. Yeah, that's the thing A lot of people say, like, 571 00:31:24,320 --> 00:31:26,840 Speaker 1: if it weren't for her, no joke, this stuff probably 572 00:31:26,880 --> 00:31:29,840 Speaker 1: wouldn't exist, certainly not in the form that it does now, 573 00:31:30,040 --> 00:31:33,200 Speaker 1: and that's not necessarily fair. There are like there were 574 00:31:33,320 --> 00:31:39,000 Speaker 1: programs that had like Social Security type programs among the states, 575 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:44,080 Speaker 1: including unemployment programs, but they were ad hoc, they were patchwork. 576 00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:48,280 Speaker 1: Most states didn't have them. And it's the kind of 577 00:31:48,320 --> 00:31:53,240 Speaker 1: the beauty of this the federal program is they're basically like, okay, 578 00:31:53,240 --> 00:31:55,760 Speaker 1: states do this, but we're going to oversee and organize 579 00:31:55,760 --> 00:31:57,600 Speaker 1: it and help fund it. 580 00:31:57,960 --> 00:32:00,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, and it's not like I was saying that all 581 00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:03,120 Speaker 2: the FDR was like not a champion of it or 582 00:32:03,240 --> 00:32:06,000 Speaker 2: was just lazy. He was He had a bunch of 583 00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:07,840 Speaker 2: stuff going on, and he had a bunch of irons 584 00:32:07,840 --> 00:32:10,320 Speaker 2: in the fire. So he needed her to come in 585 00:32:10,880 --> 00:32:13,280 Speaker 2: and say, hey, listen, this is all great because we're 586 00:32:13,360 --> 00:32:16,920 Speaker 2: in a tragic situation right now, like we're trying to 587 00:32:16,920 --> 00:32:19,160 Speaker 2: put out a fire, but what I want to do 588 00:32:19,280 --> 00:32:21,400 Speaker 2: is make sure another fire doesn't happen in the future. 589 00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:25,480 Speaker 1: Yes, And that was like her whole thing, like, we 590 00:32:25,520 --> 00:32:27,680 Speaker 1: do need to make sure that people get peanut butter 591 00:32:27,760 --> 00:32:30,520 Speaker 1: sandwiches because their families are going to starve. Like, yes, 592 00:32:30,640 --> 00:32:32,960 Speaker 1: these immediate needs have to be met, but we also 593 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:36,720 Speaker 1: simultaneously have to plan for the future too. It was 594 00:32:37,720 --> 00:32:41,920 Speaker 1: just this persistent drum that she'd beat, like, we're going 595 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:44,720 Speaker 1: to continue to have problems. Let's plan for him now. 596 00:32:45,160 --> 00:32:50,560 Speaker 1: Like the level of visionariness in this person was, you 597 00:32:50,680 --> 00:32:52,480 Speaker 1: just don't see that. I can't think of too many 598 00:32:52,520 --> 00:32:55,480 Speaker 1: other people who've come and gone in the federal government 599 00:32:55,520 --> 00:32:58,240 Speaker 1: in the United States at least that had that level 600 00:32:58,360 --> 00:33:02,280 Speaker 1: of I guess, awareness of looking down the line that 601 00:33:02,400 --> 00:33:04,840 Speaker 1: far rather than just you know, four years out or 602 00:33:04,840 --> 00:33:05,760 Speaker 1: to the next election. 603 00:33:06,320 --> 00:33:06,600 Speaker 3: Yeah. 604 00:33:06,600 --> 00:33:08,280 Speaker 2: And she also, you know, we talked about some of 605 00:33:08,320 --> 00:33:11,040 Speaker 2: the things she did earlier in terms of her career 606 00:33:11,080 --> 00:33:14,480 Speaker 2: in terms of fair labor practices, but when she was 607 00:33:14,520 --> 00:33:18,040 Speaker 2: Secretary of Labor, she had real teeth to make real change, 608 00:33:18,120 --> 00:33:22,200 Speaker 2: and during her tenure she helped craft the Fair Labor 609 00:33:22,640 --> 00:33:27,360 Speaker 2: Standards Act, she helped establish minimum wage laws, maximum work 610 00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:31,200 Speaker 2: hours laws, and she finally said, you know what, maybe 611 00:33:31,240 --> 00:33:34,760 Speaker 2: we shouldn't make labor for children better. Maybe we should 612 00:33:34,800 --> 00:33:37,080 Speaker 2: not bring our children to work and make them work. 613 00:33:37,360 --> 00:33:39,320 Speaker 2: So let's just get rid of child labor altogether. 614 00:33:39,800 --> 00:33:42,160 Speaker 1: And you can make the case, Chuck, that she is 615 00:33:42,240 --> 00:33:47,240 Speaker 1: the woman who gave America's kids the concept of a childhood. Yeah, 616 00:33:47,280 --> 00:33:50,040 Speaker 1: at the very least she extended it by many, many years. 617 00:33:50,480 --> 00:33:50,920 Speaker 3: Totally. 618 00:33:51,920 --> 00:33:55,640 Speaker 1: I've got another amazing fact about her. She I believe 619 00:33:55,720 --> 00:34:01,200 Speaker 1: is the first cabinet member who Congress ever sought to impeach. 620 00:34:01,880 --> 00:34:05,480 Speaker 1: Oh really, yes, I'm almost positive that's correct. I know 621 00:34:05,560 --> 00:34:08,000 Speaker 1: that they did try to impeach her, and they failed 622 00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:11,000 Speaker 1: in the impeachment, not just the conviction. They couldn't get 623 00:34:11,080 --> 00:34:14,040 Speaker 1: enough support for articles of impeachment. But it was because 624 00:34:14,080 --> 00:34:20,040 Speaker 1: she refused to deport an Australian longshoreman who'd successfully organized 625 00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:24,040 Speaker 1: a general strike in San Francisco and the anti communist 626 00:34:24,040 --> 00:34:28,680 Speaker 1: elements in Congress suspected that this guy was a Communist 627 00:34:28,680 --> 00:34:32,120 Speaker 1: and wanted him out, And she said, you know, I 628 00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:35,680 Speaker 1: don't think very highly of this guy. I don't really 629 00:34:35,760 --> 00:34:37,719 Speaker 1: agree with a lot of what he stands for. But 630 00:34:39,280 --> 00:34:42,200 Speaker 1: I don't think that you have really good evidence, and 631 00:34:42,239 --> 00:34:44,920 Speaker 1: I think this is all retaliation for the strike you organized. 632 00:34:44,960 --> 00:34:47,879 Speaker 1: So I'm not going to deport him. And you might say, well, 633 00:34:47,880 --> 00:34:50,719 Speaker 1: what did this lady have to do with deporting? Apparently, 634 00:34:50,760 --> 00:34:54,840 Speaker 1: back in the day the immigration the power of immigration 635 00:34:55,000 --> 00:34:58,160 Speaker 1: or control of immigration was up to the Department of Labor, 636 00:34:58,480 --> 00:35:01,440 Speaker 1: so the Secretary of Labor was also in charge of immigration, 637 00:35:01,760 --> 00:35:04,200 Speaker 1: which really kind of gives you an idea of where 638 00:35:04,239 --> 00:35:08,399 Speaker 1: America's immigration policies, you know, where their mind was at. Yeah, 639 00:35:08,400 --> 00:35:13,320 Speaker 1: that it was about importing you know, good good, good workers, 640 00:35:13,440 --> 00:35:16,920 Speaker 1: or also controlling who came in to keep competition for 641 00:35:17,040 --> 00:35:21,719 Speaker 1: jobs down totally. But so she was in charge of immigration, which, 642 00:35:21,760 --> 00:35:24,480 Speaker 1: as we'll see later on, she used to great effect. 643 00:35:24,920 --> 00:35:26,759 Speaker 3: Is that our little uh is that our cherry on 644 00:35:26,800 --> 00:35:27,399 Speaker 3: top at the end? 645 00:35:27,600 --> 00:35:30,319 Speaker 1: Yeah, I think, so, okay, that's a good idea. It's 646 00:35:30,440 --> 00:35:32,600 Speaker 1: it's the kid with the last question in Q and. 647 00:35:32,560 --> 00:35:35,520 Speaker 3: A man uh and not the drunk guy. 648 00:35:36,239 --> 00:35:37,160 Speaker 1: I hate that guy. 649 00:35:38,560 --> 00:35:40,319 Speaker 3: So when FDR. 650 00:35:40,160 --> 00:35:42,480 Speaker 2: Passed away in nineteen forty five, she was the longest 651 00:35:42,520 --> 00:35:46,440 Speaker 2: serving Labor secretary and one of only two cabinet members 652 00:35:47,520 --> 00:35:51,040 Speaker 2: to serve the entire length of his super super long presidency. 653 00:35:51,880 --> 00:35:55,279 Speaker 2: And she held over into Truman as well. He was like, 654 00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:57,880 Speaker 2: if it ain't broke, don't fix it. So you're welcome 655 00:35:57,880 --> 00:36:00,000 Speaker 2: to stay, which you don't see a lot of that anymore. 656 00:36:00,680 --> 00:36:01,719 Speaker 3: Yeah. 657 00:36:01,920 --> 00:36:05,719 Speaker 2: She published a biography, a bestseller about FDR called The 658 00:36:05,840 --> 00:36:10,080 Speaker 2: Roosevelt I Knew. And here are a few other just sort 659 00:36:10,080 --> 00:36:13,759 Speaker 2: of career feathers in her cap she was the head 660 00:36:13,800 --> 00:36:17,360 Speaker 2: of the American delegation to the International Labor Organization in Paris. 661 00:36:18,520 --> 00:36:22,440 Speaker 2: Truman appointed her to the US Civil Service Commission, which 662 00:36:22,960 --> 00:36:26,760 Speaker 2: was a position she held till nineteen fifty three. And 663 00:36:27,160 --> 00:36:30,960 Speaker 2: she basically accomplished every single one of her goals while 664 00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:34,319 Speaker 2: she was Secretary of Labor except for one thing she 665 00:36:34,360 --> 00:36:36,680 Speaker 2: went in there wanting to do, which was universal access 666 00:36:36,680 --> 00:36:37,280 Speaker 2: to healthcare. 667 00:36:37,640 --> 00:36:39,160 Speaker 1: Yeah, which is kind of a bummer. 668 00:36:40,520 --> 00:36:42,600 Speaker 2: Some people might say it's a bummer. Some people might 669 00:36:42,640 --> 00:36:43,759 Speaker 2: say good. 670 00:36:44,080 --> 00:36:47,800 Speaker 1: Sure. She also played drums for docin for a brief time, 671 00:36:47,920 --> 00:36:50,520 Speaker 1: for a little bit. She did it all and all 672 00:36:50,560 --> 00:36:53,520 Speaker 1: while wearing a frumpy, tri cornered hat. 673 00:36:54,080 --> 00:36:54,600 Speaker 3: That's right. 674 00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:56,520 Speaker 2: And then after that she did what a lot of 675 00:36:56,560 --> 00:36:59,560 Speaker 2: people in public policy do. She went on to teach 676 00:36:59,560 --> 00:37:02,520 Speaker 2: and lecture at the New York State School of Industrial 677 00:37:03,040 --> 00:37:06,759 Speaker 2: and Labor Relations at Cornell University. She did that too, 678 00:37:07,560 --> 00:37:09,280 Speaker 2: till she was eighty five years old when she passed 679 00:37:09,280 --> 00:37:11,160 Speaker 2: away in nineteen sixty five. 680 00:37:11,840 --> 00:37:14,160 Speaker 1: Yes, there are a couple of other things to throw 681 00:37:14,200 --> 00:37:17,960 Speaker 1: into Both her husband and her daughter suffered from what 682 00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:21,680 Speaker 1: we today called bipolar disorder. She cared for them their 683 00:37:21,800 --> 00:37:22,520 Speaker 1: entire lives. 684 00:37:24,880 --> 00:37:27,400 Speaker 3: That little thing yeah, right, can you imagine. 685 00:37:27,840 --> 00:37:30,719 Speaker 1: No, while she's doing all this other stuff, she made 686 00:37:30,719 --> 00:37:32,680 Speaker 1: sure that they were cared for, took care of them 687 00:37:32,680 --> 00:37:36,440 Speaker 1: directly herself. And one of the other things I think 688 00:37:36,520 --> 00:37:40,520 Speaker 1: is worth mentioning too, that while before FDR became president, 689 00:37:40,560 --> 00:37:42,880 Speaker 1: while she was working in New York, she was already 690 00:37:42,920 --> 00:37:49,680 Speaker 1: known publicly before she became Secretary of Labor because she 691 00:37:49,840 --> 00:37:53,680 Speaker 1: was the first public official to call Hoover out on 692 00:37:53,680 --> 00:37:59,120 Speaker 1: his BS when he was downplaying joblessness numbers and unemployment 693 00:37:59,120 --> 00:38:03,879 Speaker 1: figures and just general terrible economic news and pretending things 694 00:38:03,880 --> 00:38:06,320 Speaker 1: were way better than they were. She was the first 695 00:38:06,320 --> 00:38:09,560 Speaker 1: person to step up and publicly contradict him and made 696 00:38:09,640 --> 00:38:10,719 Speaker 1: national news for that. 697 00:38:11,000 --> 00:38:11,320 Speaker 3: Wow. 698 00:38:11,360 --> 00:38:14,200 Speaker 1: And you know, again, this is a woman doing this 699 00:38:14,280 --> 00:38:17,799 Speaker 1: in like nineteen thirty, so just that alone makes national news. 700 00:38:17,840 --> 00:38:19,840 Speaker 1: But she was also calling them out on his BS. 701 00:38:20,120 --> 00:38:23,040 Speaker 1: And one thing that we have to say before you 702 00:38:23,960 --> 00:38:26,840 Speaker 1: finished with the cherry on top, Chuck, she had guys 703 00:38:26,840 --> 00:38:30,600 Speaker 1: figured out. She had a folder called Notes on the 704 00:38:30,600 --> 00:38:33,640 Speaker 1: Male Mind, and she would just take notes on guys 705 00:38:33,960 --> 00:38:35,759 Speaker 1: and men that she worked with and just kind of 706 00:38:35,800 --> 00:38:39,799 Speaker 1: try to get an understanding of them. And she realized 707 00:38:40,760 --> 00:38:44,400 Speaker 1: that the way to get male colleagues to treat you 708 00:38:44,600 --> 00:38:47,799 Speaker 1: normally or maybe even respect you is to remind them 709 00:38:47,840 --> 00:38:52,799 Speaker 1: of their mother. Wow, that's what it takes, apparently to 710 00:38:52,840 --> 00:38:56,080 Speaker 1: get a guy to treat a woman with respect. That 711 00:38:56,239 --> 00:38:57,279 Speaker 1: work well. 712 00:38:57,320 --> 00:39:01,080 Speaker 2: And you know we mentioned why she's undersung there. You know, 713 00:39:01,440 --> 00:39:03,560 Speaker 2: history is written by men. We all know this, and 714 00:39:03,680 --> 00:39:05,880 Speaker 2: a lot of those New Deal histories in the seventies 715 00:39:05,880 --> 00:39:10,200 Speaker 2: and eighties didn't even mention her, which is just staggering 716 00:39:10,520 --> 00:39:12,200 Speaker 2: that you can write a history of the New Deal 717 00:39:12,239 --> 00:39:15,440 Speaker 2: and not mentioned Francis Perkins. It's just like a black 718 00:39:15,480 --> 00:39:17,839 Speaker 2: eye on any author that did something like that. 719 00:39:18,160 --> 00:39:21,480 Speaker 1: It almost seems malicious in a weird way, like I'd 720 00:39:21,640 --> 00:39:22,879 Speaker 1: like to think that that's not the. 721 00:39:22,800 --> 00:39:27,719 Speaker 2: Case, but what is there? It's nuts, it's weird. So 722 00:39:27,840 --> 00:39:31,120 Speaker 2: the cherry on top here at the end is World 723 00:39:31,160 --> 00:39:33,960 Speaker 2: War two. World War two is not a cherry on top. 724 00:39:34,680 --> 00:39:39,040 Speaker 2: But she was watching Hitler do his thing in Germany 725 00:39:39,040 --> 00:39:39,960 Speaker 2: and got really worried. 726 00:39:40,320 --> 00:39:41,920 Speaker 1: She's like, man, that guy's cranked. 727 00:39:42,480 --> 00:39:45,920 Speaker 2: She was read about anti Semitism and everything that was 728 00:39:45,960 --> 00:39:48,960 Speaker 2: going on with the violence there, and she wanted to 729 00:39:49,000 --> 00:39:53,360 Speaker 2: help German refugees escape. And at the time, the Coolidge 730 00:39:53,360 --> 00:39:57,000 Speaker 2: administration and the immigration laws that came through his administration 731 00:39:57,040 --> 00:40:01,240 Speaker 2: were really tough, and Americans were very fearful that relaxing 732 00:40:01,280 --> 00:40:05,480 Speaker 2: these laws would increase the job competition and that Americans 733 00:40:05,480 --> 00:40:08,120 Speaker 2: weren't going to have these jobs. And she said, you 734 00:40:08,160 --> 00:40:11,840 Speaker 2: know what, I don't agree the immigration services under the 735 00:40:11,880 --> 00:40:15,640 Speaker 2: Department of Labor, and so I am going to put 736 00:40:15,640 --> 00:40:18,279 Speaker 2: some quotas down to get some of these refugees here 737 00:40:18,320 --> 00:40:21,239 Speaker 2: and to aid them. And she did that to great success. 738 00:40:21,520 --> 00:40:24,239 Speaker 1: Yes, she made sure that about at least fifty five 739 00:40:24,360 --> 00:40:30,240 Speaker 1: thousand Jewish German immigrants made their way into the United 740 00:40:30,239 --> 00:40:34,920 Speaker 1: States through these Department of Labor immigration quotas and another 741 00:40:35,040 --> 00:40:38,560 Speaker 1: I think two hundred thousand people in general were rescued 742 00:40:38,640 --> 00:40:42,080 Speaker 1: from Europe as World War Two was starting to develop 743 00:40:42,160 --> 00:40:45,120 Speaker 1: over there because of her. Just on top of everything else, 744 00:40:45,320 --> 00:40:47,360 Speaker 1: she also saved a bunch of tens of thousands of 745 00:40:47,440 --> 00:40:52,920 Speaker 1: Jewish people from Hitler in World War two. Amazing, amazing, Chuck, 746 00:40:54,520 --> 00:40:58,200 Speaker 1: I guess that's it for Francis Perkins. Huh, that's it. Well, 747 00:40:58,239 --> 00:40:59,880 Speaker 1: if you want to know more about Francis Perkins, go 748 00:41:00,080 --> 00:41:02,640 Speaker 1: start reading about her, because there's even more detail to 749 00:41:02,719 --> 00:41:06,120 Speaker 1: her life than we captured here. And she's worth reading about. 750 00:41:06,440 --> 00:41:09,399 Speaker 1: Very admirable person. And since I said admirable, it's time 751 00:41:09,400 --> 00:41:10,120 Speaker 1: for listener mail. 752 00:41:12,680 --> 00:41:15,960 Speaker 2: I'm gonna call this helping a helper, and this is 753 00:41:16,040 --> 00:41:18,239 Speaker 2: from a Tawny. 754 00:41:18,480 --> 00:41:19,160 Speaker 3: Tony says this. 755 00:41:19,200 --> 00:41:22,239 Speaker 2: Hey, guys, have been sewing face masks for almost a 756 00:41:22,280 --> 00:41:25,080 Speaker 2: month now, and I'm close to my one thousandth mask. 757 00:41:25,600 --> 00:41:30,080 Speaker 2: Nice It's a lot I have given and donated to friends, family, 758 00:41:30,120 --> 00:41:30,680 Speaker 2: co workers. 759 00:41:31,360 --> 00:41:32,840 Speaker 3: I'm a nine one one. 760 00:41:32,600 --> 00:41:36,320 Speaker 2: Dispatcher by the way, healthcare workers, retail workers, delivery people, 761 00:41:36,320 --> 00:41:38,120 Speaker 2: postal workers, and other essential workers. 762 00:41:38,160 --> 00:41:40,279 Speaker 1: And people wearing funny hats. 763 00:41:40,040 --> 00:41:42,080 Speaker 3: People wearing funny hats and complete strangers. 764 00:41:42,680 --> 00:41:46,000 Speaker 2: Now that face masks have become mandatory here in San Diego, 765 00:41:46,520 --> 00:41:49,200 Speaker 2: the need has grown substantially. And through all of this, 766 00:41:49,840 --> 00:41:52,920 Speaker 2: you three have been with me in keeping me company 767 00:41:54,040 --> 00:41:54,799 Speaker 2: about Jerry too. 768 00:41:55,800 --> 00:41:58,920 Speaker 1: Well yeah, okay, she wasn't talking about Tommy Chong. I'll 769 00:41:58,920 --> 00:41:59,359 Speaker 1: tell you that. 770 00:42:00,960 --> 00:42:03,880 Speaker 2: Old episodes and new have entertained me through the tedious 771 00:42:03,880 --> 00:42:07,520 Speaker 2: hours of cutting, fabric, ironing, pinning, and sewing. I started 772 00:42:07,520 --> 00:42:09,280 Speaker 2: listening to your podcast while I was in the Navy 773 00:42:09,800 --> 00:42:12,040 Speaker 2: and soon introduce you guys to my husband, who was 774 00:42:12,080 --> 00:42:16,160 Speaker 2: still in the military. We have both listened and learned 775 00:42:16,280 --> 00:42:19,120 Speaker 2: through the years together. Thank you for continuing your show 776 00:42:19,480 --> 00:42:22,479 Speaker 2: and helping the helpers of the world. Side note, love 777 00:42:22,560 --> 00:42:24,399 Speaker 2: the nine to one to one Dispatcher episode and thank 778 00:42:24,400 --> 00:42:27,480 Speaker 2: you for clearing up the pizza order myth Second side note, 779 00:42:28,360 --> 00:42:30,800 Speaker 2: I wrote my master's thesis on the use of body 780 00:42:30,840 --> 00:42:34,240 Speaker 2: worn cameras by law enforcement, and I decided to focus 781 00:42:34,280 --> 00:42:39,200 Speaker 2: on that topic after listening to that awesome episode. Oh Na, Yeah, 782 00:42:39,200 --> 00:42:41,600 Speaker 2: that's pretty cool. All three of you are thanked and 783 00:42:41,640 --> 00:42:42,720 Speaker 2: mentioned in the thesis. 784 00:42:42,760 --> 00:42:44,160 Speaker 1: Even oh that's cool. 785 00:42:44,440 --> 00:42:47,480 Speaker 2: When I'm tired and don't want to sew anymore, I 786 00:42:47,520 --> 00:42:48,799 Speaker 2: think of this quote. 787 00:42:48,760 --> 00:42:50,600 Speaker 3: For mister Rogers head down. 788 00:42:51,280 --> 00:42:53,320 Speaker 2: When I was a boy and I would see scary 789 00:42:53,320 --> 00:42:55,400 Speaker 2: things in the news, my mother would say to me, 790 00:42:55,880 --> 00:42:59,319 Speaker 2: look for the helpers. You will always find people who 791 00:42:59,320 --> 00:42:59,840 Speaker 2: are helping. 792 00:43:00,560 --> 00:43:02,120 Speaker 1: Go to them and they will help you. 793 00:43:03,080 --> 00:43:05,640 Speaker 2: And that is from Tawny, And that's a great quote, Tony. 794 00:43:05,719 --> 00:43:07,760 Speaker 2: I'm gonna use that at my own house. 795 00:43:08,239 --> 00:43:11,160 Speaker 1: It's kind of like, if you're afraid of flying, watch 796 00:43:11,200 --> 00:43:13,399 Speaker 1: the flight attendants and as long as they're not freaking out, 797 00:43:13,400 --> 00:43:17,560 Speaker 1: you're fine. It's the exact same thing he's saying when 798 00:43:17,600 --> 00:43:21,759 Speaker 1: the s goes down, there's people helping, so that's always good. 799 00:43:23,480 --> 00:43:24,919 Speaker 3: God bless mister Rogers and. 800 00:43:24,880 --> 00:43:27,920 Speaker 1: You man man. Yep, thanks a lot, is it? 801 00:43:27,960 --> 00:43:30,319 Speaker 3: Tony Tawny t a w n Y. 802 00:43:30,600 --> 00:43:32,279 Speaker 1: I couldn't tell if you were just putting a little 803 00:43:32,320 --> 00:43:33,600 Speaker 1: mustard on the Tony. 804 00:43:33,600 --> 00:43:34,680 Speaker 3: No like Tawny Kataan. 805 00:43:35,120 --> 00:43:38,919 Speaker 2: Sure, yeah from the white Snake video that cultural icon. 806 00:43:40,040 --> 00:43:43,400 Speaker 1: Well, thanks a lot, Tawny. I apologize for Chuck calling 807 00:43:43,440 --> 00:43:47,520 Speaker 1: you Tawny Katane. Okay, can I apologize for you? Charge? 808 00:43:47,520 --> 00:43:47,759 Speaker 3: Sure? 809 00:43:48,040 --> 00:43:51,120 Speaker 1: Okay, Well I'm gonna do that. If you want to 810 00:43:51,239 --> 00:43:53,960 Speaker 1: get me to apologize for Charles, let's see if you 811 00:43:54,000 --> 00:43:57,200 Speaker 1: can do it. You can send us an email, wrap 812 00:43:57,280 --> 00:43:58,960 Speaker 1: it up, spanking on the bottom, and send it off 813 00:43:59,000 --> 00:44:05,000 Speaker 1: to stuff podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. 814 00:44:05,160 --> 00:44:07,480 Speaker 3: Stuff you Should Know is a production of iHeartRadio. 815 00:44:07,960 --> 00:44:12,319 Speaker 2: For more podcasts myheart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 816 00:44:12,440 --> 00:44:14,240 Speaker 2: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.