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Vance questions authority of US judges to challenge Trump; UAW contract negotiations at VW focus on higher wages, health care, retirement; Report highlights how Georgia can unlock rural infrastructure, broadband; Leftover fish parts could help keep industrial fishing waste low.

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The head of the new White House Faith Office draws scrutiny, Trump moves to fire the Federal Elections Commission chair, and a North Carolina judge won't toss tens of thousands of ballots in a state Supreme Court race.

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Medical debt, which tops $90 billion has an outsized impact on rural communities, a new photography book shares the story of 5,000 schools built for Black students between 1912 and 1937, and anti-hunger advocates champion SNAP.

National monument in Maine honors labor advocate Perkins

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Tuesday, December 17, 2024   

A new national monument in the town of Newcastle in Maine will honor FDR-era Labor Secretary Frances Perkins.

The first woman to serve in a presidential Cabinet, Perkins is credited with driving New Deal policies including the 40-hour work week, the minimum wage and Social Security.

Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, called Perkins an "unsung hero."

"... who has inspired millions of women, millions of workers and is directly responsible for so many of the rights and benefits we have as working people today across this country," Shuler emphasized.

Shuler said Perkins opened doors for women in the labor movement and helped secure workers' legal right to form a union and collectively bargain.

Recent polls show 70% of Americans support unions, a near record high. Labor leaders took advantage of the monument's designation to tout the continued gains they have made during the Biden Administration and induct him into the Labor Department's Hall of Honor.

Julie Su, acting U.S. Secretary of Labor, said union election petitions have doubled over the past four years while some 400,000 workers joined a union for the first time.

"We come to the table not to pressure parties to come to an agreement but to achieve outcomes that value workers for what they are worth," Su explained.

Su pointed out the Biden administration expanded overtime protections and made generational investments in the nation's infrastructure and energy systems to create good union jobs. President Joe Biden was also the first sitting president to march with workers on a picket line.

Su added Perkins knew the value of unions in helping alleviate widespread poverty following the Great Depression. The national monument honoring her legacy will comprise roughly 60 acres of what was once her family's homestead in Newcastle.


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